Stardust Interstellar Preliminary Examination II: Curating the interstellar dust collector, picokeystones, and sources of impact tracks

Abstract We discuss the inherent difficulties that arise during “ground truth” characterization of the Stardust interstellar dust collector. The challenge of identifying contemporary interstellar dust impact tracks in aerogel is described within the context of background spacecraft secondaries and possible interplanetary dust particles and β‐meteoroids. In addition, the extraction of microscopic dust embedded in aerogel is technically …