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EST on the night of Feb. 14 (0440 GMT on Feb. 15). The main goal is to see how much Tempel 1 has changed since July 2005, when NASA's Deep Impact probe flew by the icy wanderer and sent an impactor smashing into it.ExtensionAdapter Cable It accomplished its primary mission  to collect dust and gas from around  Wild 2 and send the sample back to Earth in a return canister   in 2006.

Since the spacecraft was in good shape and had enough fuel, NASA gave it a new mission in July 2007: to meet up with Tempel 1. With the new mission came an expanded name: Stardust NExT (for "New Exploration of Tempel").

The 3.7 mile wide (6 km) completes an orbit every 5 1/2 years, so it has circled the sun once since Deep Impact's visit. Researchers hope Stardust NExT will give them an idea of how Tempel 1 has changed during this time.

Another goal is to map out more of Tempel 1's surface, adding to the work done by Deep Impact.

On the night of Feb. 14, the spacecraft  traveling at about 24,300 mph (39,100 kph)   will fly close to within 124 miles (200 km) of Tempel 1. Stardust NExT will take 72 high resolution images during the flyby and begin transmitting them to Earth about an hour after the closest approach, researchers said.

This should be the last encounter for Stardust NExT. It will burn up almost all of its remaining fuel chasing down Tempel 1. But it should go out on a high note, researchers said.

"The spacecraft is working wonderfully well," Stardust NExT principal investigator Joe Veverka, of Cornell University, told reporters last month.