NASA shows the mysterious wreckage of a 'flying saucer'

Any species that sets out to reach for the stars will invariably burn their fingertips. It’s possible.

A memorable reminder of our space mistakes is provided by NASA’s Astronomy Picture Of The Day website. The photo’s caption reads, “A flying saucer from space crashed in the Utah desert after being tracked by radar and pursued by helicopters,” but NASA makes no mention of an alien encounter. The return capsule of the Genesis spacecraft was hidden in the desert sand by the damaged dish. It was half buried under the desert sand. It wasn’t supposed to hit the ground with that force.

NASA launched Project Genesis on August 8, 2001. It was an ambitious effort to launch a spacecraft into our star’s solar wind, collect samples, and return them to Earth. The researchers sought to understand more about the elements of the original planets of the Solar System. They collected data from the Sun’s corona on the composition of charged particles exiting it.

The Genesis spacecraft came equipped with a sample capsule to return solar wind elements. It was used during its two-year orbit around the Lagrange point 1. This is one of the few places in space where gravity and the Sun are perfectly balanced. The craft collected the sun’s energy by deploying a series of arrays of collectors. Each was loaded with high purity elements like aluminum, sapphire or silicon and even gold.

Amy Jurewicz, project scientist, explained that the materials used in the Genesis Collector’s arrays needed to be strong enough to launch without breaking, hold the sample while it’s heated by the Sun, and pure enough that we could analyze the elements of the wind. solar. after returning to Earth. The sample capsule with its precious matrices was launched in Utah five days later at a speed of 310 km/h (193 mph).

It was planned that the capsule’s mortar would explode 127 seconds after re-entering the atmosphere. The preliminary parachute would then be deployed to slow the descent and stabilize it. The capsule’s primary parachute would then inflate, allowing for an unhurried descent to the Utah Test and Training Range.

The crash scene is dotted with helicopters, hovering near the wreckage and preparing to capture the capsule mid-flight. They also quickly transport the capsule to a clean room to minimize contamination. None of the parachutes deployed.

After careful analysis, it was determined that the inaccuracy could be attributed to a sensor cluster the same size as the metallic tip of a pencil. They were placed upside down. These tiny devices sensed the rising g-forces and activated the parachutes as the capsule fell toward the ground. As you would expect, the impact caused significant damage, destroying many arrays and contaminating valuable payloads within them.