On This Day in Space! Sept. 8, 2004: NASA's Genesis spacecraft crash-lands in Utah

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On Sept. 8, 2004, NASA's Genesis spacecraft crash-landed in Utah after its parachutes failed to deploy.

On Sept. 8, 2004, NASA's Genesis spacecraft crash-landed in Utah after its parachutes failed to deploy.

Genesis was NASA's first sample-return mission since the Apollo program and the first to bring back samples from anywhere farther than the moon. The spacecraft picked up solar wind particles while orbiting the L1 Lagrange point, which is about 1 million miles away from Earth. L1 is a "sweet spot" between the Earth and the sun, where the gravitational pull from both objects balances out. 

NASA's Genesis sample return capsule seen after it impacted the ground in Utah.  (Image credit: NASA)
Related Stories:

— Picking up where the Genesis mission left off

— Space probe fails to deploy chute, slams into Earth

— Investigators find preliminary cause of Genesis crash

— Lots of science intact in smashed-up Genesis capsule

— Genesis reentry observed by ground, airborne instruments

— The Genesis payload: Just how dangerous are its contents?

Genesis collected samples of the solar wind using arrays made of ultrathin semiconductors called "wafers." Atoms and ions floating around in space stuck to these wafers, and Genesis was supposed to bring them back safely. But that didn't happen, because its parachute didn't work. 

Genesis tumbled from the sky and slammed into the Utah desert. Scientists literally had to pick up the pieces. The wafers containing all their samples had shattered into thousands of little shards. Luckily, scientists were still able to salvage some of the samples.

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Hanneke Weitering
Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos. 

5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • The Exoplanets Channel
    Very interesting
    Reply
  • Arc Light
    Just so you know, the X-15 took off from Edwards AFB under the wing of a B-52 & was airdropped over Delamar Dry Lake, Nevada. The flight to the altitude record wasn't planned, but the rocket engine burned for two seconds longer than expected. The test flight was scheduled to peak at 280,000', but actually reached 314, 750' due to the extra rocket burn time.
    Reply
  • Fourth Root
    Misleading wording. Bob White did not set the world altitude record on July 17th, 1962. Four Astronauts and two cosmonauts had flown higher prior to his flight. One could say it was the highest manned flight of a winged craft. But that's not the wording that was used.
    Reply
  • DrRaviSharma
    On this date in 1969, I was part of NASA Apollo Team

    Contributed to Experiments in orbit and on Surface of Moon (ALSEP) etc.also trained astronauts

    Studied containation on and ouside Spacecraft.

    The Moon gave me employment to work for 5 Years on exciting Human Space flight Programs Skylab, Planning of Space Station and Space Shuttle

    See My picture taken with Buzz Aldrin in 2009
    https://www.space.com/india-moon-landing-not-a-failure.html
    I received Apollo Achievement Award from NASA dated July 20, 1969.

    Thanks Hanneke Weitering for today's Historic post

    Ravi
    Dr. Ravi Sharma
    Reply
  • Mergatroid
    "Allegedly, the moon turns green because of its close proximity to Uranus"

    I'm sorry about that. I hear they have been investigating x-rays from the same source. I had no idea. I'll get a doctor to check into it.

    Sorry everyone.

    Sorry...
    Reply