Genesis (U.S.)

Updated May 8, 2019 | Infoplease Staff

Destination: The Sun. Launched: Aug. 8, 2001. Return: Sept. 8, 2004. Mission: To gather samples of charged particles of the solar wind and return them to Earth. The drogue parachute of the return capsule failed to deploy, sending the craft plunging into the Utah desert at 193 miles per hour (311 kilometers per hour). Four of the sample canisters were intact and are undergoing analysis.