The Genesis spacecraft was launched August 8, 2001 on a mission to collect particles of the sun emitted in the solar wind. From December 3, 2001 to April 2, 2004 Genesis successfully collected the raw particles of the sun that only weighed a little more than a few grains of salt. The spacecraft used gold, sapphires, diamonds, and silicon in the tiles of the collector arrays. The particles were funneled into a canister. During its return to Earth on September 8, 2004, the drogue parachute and parafoil didn’t deploy, or open, but the canister was undamaged in its crash in Utah. The canister was taken to a cleanroom, or sealed room, at the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground in Utah where the particles are carefully being studied. Scientists hope to learn the answer to many questions about our cosmic origins from the sun’s raw particles.