The Stardust mission to comet Wild 2 has just released the official photos from the encounter, which occurred January 2, 2004. The main purpose of the flyby was to collect samples of comet material, which will be returned to Earth in another year and a half. The comet, which is 5 km in diameter, proved to have enormous kilometer-sized craters, 100-meter “pinnacles”, and mesas, and “jets” of material flowing out. More commentary here on some of the strange and unexpected features. The first scientific paper is coming out today in a special June 18, 2004 issue of the journal Science.