Science: The Mysterious Cloud

The dust gatherer is a bother to the housewife, but it is a boon to the scientist. By sending rockets into space to trap meteoric dust, scientists hope to learn some of the secrets of the great void beyond the earth's atmosphere. Last week they were evaluating the catch of the best dust gatherer yet developed: an Aerobee-Hi sounding rocket, which unfolds its nose toward the top of its climb and spreads out eight graceful petals into space like a great mechanical flower.

The dust-catching Aerobee-Hi, launched last month from White. Sands, N. Mex., climbed for 102 miles before blossoming, folded its...

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