[Yo-Yo]

The capsule appeared to have tumbled five times across the dried lake bed southwest of Salt Lake City, said Joe Vellinga, of Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, which built the spacecraft.

The first probe was supposed to be snagged in mid-air by it's parachute by the recovery helicoptors, but augered into the mud when the chute didn't deploy.

Wasn't this one supposed to be snagged in the same way, so as to not dislodge particles from the aerogel panels?

[neverdem]

Wasn't this one supposed to be snagged in the same way, so as to not dislodge particles from the aerogel panels?

Not from what I've read. Airborne all the way!

[Moonman62]

Wasn't this one supposed to be snagged in the same way, so as to not dislodge particles from the aerogel panels?

Nope, the aerogel apparently is much sturdier than the collectors on the Genesis probe. However, the most important collector on the Genesis probe, called the concentrator actually suffered no damage. Some of the more sensitive collectors were pulverized to dust, though others are very usable and it's expected that 100% of the mission goals will be met. Not bad for a probe that was too delicate to land by parachute, yet slammed into the ground without one.