Peter Jenniskens Quotations

Some observations can only be done from the ground, such as listen for the sonic boom and observing the hot air trail in the wake of the sample return capsule drift in front of the Moon.

We have now turned our attention on setting up ground-based observations as well, including involving the public in documenting the reentry.

Isn't it gorgeous? It's a meteor - a man-made meteor.

It was unbelievable. It was much brighter than expected with many diagnostic emissions.

It was very slowly moving, starting out bluish in color and turning gradually into a deep red as it penetrated deeper into the atmosphere. It lasted about one minute.

This is a great opportunity to test a thermal protection system in real hypervelocity operation conditions.

Also, we'd like to involve the public in taking images and video of the reentry because the view from each location will be a little different, depending on how the capsule itself shields the light coming from the front.