The Stardust mission collected samples from comet Wild 2 and interstellar dust particles. It launched in February 1999 and encountered Wild 2 in January 2004, collecting dust samples in aerogel. It returned the samples to Earth safely in January 2006. The spacecraft used an innovative Whipple shield to protect itself from comet dust impacts during the encounter. Analysis of the Stardust samples has provided insights about comet composition and the early solar system.