Cosmic venture

British scientists will be hoping to catch some of the primordial stuff of our solar system as the new year begins when the space probe Stardust flies through the comet Wild 2. Tony McDonnell and Simon Green of the Open University's Planetary and Space Science Research Institute are hoping the sensor they developed will register direct hits from cometary particles on January 2. The dust will be collected in a grid made from aerogel which will return to earth in 2006.