The Genesis mission: unifying science and engineering

Design of the Genesis spacecraft mission was derived from top-down flow of a basic and highly challenging science requirement: obtain samples of solar matter of such high quality and low background that they would sustain investigations of chemical and isotopic composition of the solar system for the coming decades, and well into the 21^st Century. Within the framework of several dozen competing mission concepts for planetary exploration under NASA's Discovery program, Genesis needed to perform extremely high quality science (solar collection and sample return) for an affordable yet realistic level of effort. Key issues included preservation of collector cleanliness, avoidance of spacecraft-generated con-tamination, control of collector temperatures, simplicity of long-term operation, ability to efficiently reach the L1 operations point, reliability of avionics and other support systems, return to a specific landing locale on Earth, and provision for soft capture of the descent capsule via mid-air parachute snatch. Genesis is now in the final stages of spacecraft testing and system validation, the culmination of a highly interwoven effort to meet science objectives with innovative solutions that also satisfy engineering challenges for reliability, affordability, rapid development and a comprehensive test program. Genesis is scheduled for launch in February 2001.