Images: Streaking home with piece of comet's tail
Scientists hope that the aerogel, which is 95 percent air, has captured materials that will reveal information from the earliest history of the solar system. The chemical and physical information from the samples could present a record of the formation of planets and the materials from which they were made.
In an experiment using a special air gun, particles are shot into aerogel at high velocities to simulate the collection of samples from Wild 2's tail.
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