Today we are rolling out the Mark 2 version of the Stardust@home website. Unfortunately, we are not able to begin the actual stardust search today as we have not been able to collect enough image data from the automated scanning microscope. There have been several technical difficulties with the microscope that have caused this delay. Because of this, the testing, registration, and virtual microscope features of this website are not yet enabled.

All other portions of the site are fully functional, including our Tutorial in the Stardust Search section, and the Message Board in the Community section. We highly encourage all potential volunteers to sign up for and use the message board.

Pre-registration has now ended. As we have promised, we will send out one email to all pre-registered volunteers when we launch the virtual microscope and image data from the Stardust interstellar dust collector.

Scanning of the Stardust interstellar dust collector has finally begun at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX! We now have several steps to complete before we roll-out the project to the public. We will be performing a load test of our servers April 28-29. We need to begin uploading data from Houston and checking for focus problems. We'll be using the data from Houston to make calibration movies and examples for the training tutorial. Our target date for the roll-out of the project is May 17.

We thank you for your patience and do not foresee any further delays in the project.

Today was the anticipated launch date of the Stardust@home project. However, delays at the Johnson Space Center have forced us to delay the start until approximately April 5, 2006. Look to this space for future updates.

You can also read our Letter from the Project Director, Dr. Andrew Westphal, about the progress of the Stardust and Stardust@home projects.

Teachers planning lessons using Stardust@home and who are concerned about the delay should contact us. We are very interested in helping with any lesson plans teachers are creating and will be incorporating them into this website when the project launches next month.