As with previous problematic shots taken by Stardust, contamination on the camera's optics and mirror scatter light more than engineers had expected -- in this case creating a halo around the Moon. The problem may have been caused by gases escaping from the spacecraft after its launch on February 7, 1999.
Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said much of the contamination has been removed in the past few months by heating the camera and boiling the contamination away, but they aren't sure if they will be able to get rid of the rest.
On to Comet Wild 2
Last weekend, the spacecraft zoomed around Earth at 22,400 miles (36,048 kilometers) per hour and used Earth's gravity to go into a slightly wider orbit around the Sun. This will enable Stardust to get farther from the Sun and intercept the comet Wild 2 (pronounced "vilt-2") in 2004.
Researchers hope Stardust will produce pictures of the comet with the kind of detail seen in the new Moon image. Stardust's images of the comet's surface are expected to be 10 times better than any previous picture of comet nuclei.
"We will see the size and shape of the comet and be able to detect small craters, variations in the brightness, dirty dusty areas and newly iced surfaces," said Stardust project manager Tom Duxbury.
Stardust will also collect dust from the comet to return to Earth for study in laboratories.
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