NASA mid-air capture stunt failed

It's a bust!!!

NASA pilots wanted to perform a unique stunt today but did not get their chance.

What's this all about?

The Genesis spacecraft returned to Earth after collecting particles of solar wind.

The NASA pilots were to perform a mid-air recovery of the sample return capsule with a helicopter.

The Genesis craft crashed in the Utah desert before it could be captured in a mid-air recovery, because the parachute failed to deploy and the capsule spun out of control.

It is still to be determined if the extraterrestrial matter survived the impact. This material is the first to be returned to Earth by a spacecraft since the U.S. Apollo and Soviet Luna missions brought back moon rocks in the 1970s.

Learn more about Genesis:
Genesis Mission