Genesis Mission Status Update April 14, 2003

The Genesis spacecraft continues its mission collecting solar wind material
expelled from the Sun. Telemetry from the Genesis spacecraft indicates the
spacecraft is in overall good health and as of the morning of April 14, the
spacecraft was about 1.473 million kilometers (.915 million miles) from Earth.

On April 4, the Genesis flight team performed a “concentrator rejection grid
test.” This test demonstrated a new maximum voltage of 2120 V for the
rejection grid and was a complete success.

Recent solar activity has called for the “high solar speed” collector array
to be deployed 60% of the time. The low-speed array has been deployed 26%
of the time and holding down the fort in last place has been the “E-Array”
which has been unshaded 14% of the time. The “E-Array” is deployed when
sensors on the spacecraft detect a coronal mass ejection.

There are three collector arrays aboard Genesis that are exposed to, or
hidden from, the solar wind. One collector array for each of the three solar
wind regimes. Which collector array is exposed is determined by the data
received by sensitive ion and electron monitors located on the spacecraft’s
equipment deck. These monitors scrutinize the solar wind passing by the
spacecraft and relay this information to the onboard computer, which in
turn commands the collector arrays to deploy and retract as needed.

Genesis Vital Statistics:

• 615 days since launch.
• 355 days to planned completion of solar particle collection.
• 512 days to Genesis return to Earth.