Scott was on the Recovery Team that was responsible for finding and recovering the Stardust Sample Return Capsule (SRC) after it landed in the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). The recovery involved hundreds of people around the world, but a limited number of people were involved with the physical recovery of the SRC. Personnel in the helicopter hanger prior to staging the recovery crew to their jumping off point are shown here. Most of the Recovery Team members are dressed in the orange parkas.

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Once we packed all our gear in the helicopters, we had to help push them out onto the hanger pad (Scott's the middle orange parka).

The SRC entry went like clockwork, although storm winds blew the SRC to the northern edge of the landing ellipse and the Recovery Team staging area out on the lake bed (Pad 11) was at the southern edge of the landing ellipse. As a result, it took a little time to find and arrive at the SRC landing location. Once we got there, here's what the SRC looked like.

The SRC bounced four times and then rolled upon landing It ended up resting on the side of its backshell. The capsule came through in great shape, but you can clearly see some of the impact sites on the heatshield and backshell. You can also see the wandering track the SRC made as it rolled to a stop. The surface was VERY muddy, but no water or mud got into the capsule.

Sooty material from the outer surfaces of the heatshield and backshell stuck in the mud every time the SRC bounce. This 'peeling off' of the outer layer of the SRC kept mud from sticking to the SRC. Ultimately the SRC turned out to be much cleaner than the Recovery Crew, particularly their boots! Here's an image of the initial impact point showing the heatshield residue that stuck in the mud.

The SRC was photographed in place while Scott took some air samples for later analyses. The Science Team wanted to make sure the heatshield didn't give off gases that could contaminate the returned samples. The SRC had previously been examined for toxic gases and none were found (otherwise Scott would have had to don the respirator hanging around his neck).

Once it was determined the SRC was in good shape and could be moved, it was double bagged and prepared for its helicopter flight to a temporary cleanroom in the Avery complex at the UTTR.

Below is the fully packaged SRC and many of the Recovery Team members waiting for the arrival of the transport helicopter. Note the large amounts of mud on their boots. (Scott is at the far right)

Below a picture of the SRC being loaded into the transport helicopter. Most of the Recovery Team remained at the site for a short time to take soil samples, and then followed the SRC in two additional helicopters.