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CNN Sunday Morning

NASA Plans to Launch Genesis Spacecraft Tomorrow

Aired July 29, 2001 - 08:40   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, tomorrow is the planned launch date for a remarkable mission, the Genesis spacecraft is to catch and bring back bits of the sun. The mission may even answer some questions about evolution.

Joining us now, the mission payload manager, Don Sevilla from Los Angeles. Hi, Don.

DON SEVILLA, PAYLOAD MANAGER, GENESIS MISSION: Hi, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, I've got to tell you, this is pretty interesting. I've got all kinds of questions for you. Why don't we talk about the significance of the launch first, and then we'll kind of get into the scientific technicalities.

SEVILLA: Well, Genesis is the first sample return since Apollo. We're going to bring back samples of the sun. The sun is too hot to go there, but we can catch what it's throwing at it -- at us. Genesis is our catcher's mitt.

PHILLIPS: So, here it is. It's going to be in this lazy orbit. Let's talk about solar wind. First of all, what is it?

SEVILLA: Solar winds are the atoms, the charged particles that the sun is throwing off. It tells scientists, it will tell scientists something about the evolution of the solar system. It's the fossil records of the solar system.

PHILLIPS: Is that the main focus of why this mission is going about collecting this solar wind, or are there other outlets too that could be interesting to look at?

SEVILLA: No, actually it's the only thing that Genesis is doing, is bringing back pristine samples of the solar wind. Samples of the sun. It doesn't really give us any science while it's there, but when it comes back, it's a treasure trove of information.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about evolution. We mentioned that at the very beginning. What can it tell us?

SEVILLA: Well, the solar nebula that the solar system was formed from, the sun is shucking off particles that are remnants of that beginnings of the solar system, and scientists will be able to use the information from Genesis to figure out how the solar system formed. PHILLIPS: How did you actually build Genesis?

SEVILLA: Well, the most important thing for Genesis was making it free from contamination. Since we're collecting so little material, we have to be extremely clean, so we built Genesis from ultra-clean collectors, basically silicone wafers from the semiconductor industry, and then we package them up in our contamination free container and expose it once it is in space, to the sun.

PHILLIPS: Two-and-a-half years, it's basically going to be in this lazy orbit?

SEVILLA: Right. There is a point in space where the Earth and the sun's gravity is balanced and so Genesis will do what's called a halo orbit. It'll just slowly circle around this point facing the sun and collecting these particles.

PHILLIPS: Now, you mentioned that Apollo was the last sample return mission, right? What was part of that mission? Was that moon rocks?

SEVILLA: Well, Apollo brought back moon rocks, yes. You might have remembered seeing an astronaut on the moon rolling up some aluminum foil as they were walking around. That actually was one of the first solar wind sample experiments, and it told us something, but it was only there for a few days and it wasn't using these ultra- pristine, clean materials.

PHILLIPS: It'll be interesting to see what this mission tell us. Don Sevilla, payload manager for the Genesis mission. Thanks so much.

SEVILLA: Oh, you're very welcome.

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