First material to be collected from beyond the Moon

NASA's Genesis spacecraft was launched in 2001. During the course of its three-year mission, it successfully returned solar wind molecules to Earth, the first material to be collected from beyond the Moon. The sampling process was completed on 1 April 2004. Researchers studying the solar wind sample discovered evidence suggesting that Earth may have been created from different solar nebula materials from those that created the sun. On 8 September 2004, the spacecraft released a sample return capsule that returned to Earth, landing in the desert in Dugway, Utah, USA.