NASA recreates cosmic dust in lab

Washington: Scientists at NASA's Ames Research Centre, California, said that using the Cosmic Simulation Chamber (COSmIC), they have been able to create the same dust that is ejected into the interstellar medium as a star approaches the end of its life. Stellar dust is very special stuff as it forms the building blocks for planets.

The key to COSmIC is its extreme low pressure chamber at its heart. The extreme cold, high radiation environment is simulated, blasting the whole system with an electrical discharge. After the gas mixture was exposed to the mini space environment analogue, the researchers detected the production of tiny grains of dust that carry similar characteristics as the dust generated by dying stars.