  We review the development of dust science from the first ground-based
astronomical observations of dust in space to compositional analysis of
individual dust particles and their source objects. A multitude of
observational techniques is available for the scientific study of space dust:
from meteors and interplanetary dust particles collected in the upper
atmosphere to dust analyzed in situ or returned to Earth. In situ dust
detectors have been developed from simple dust impact detectors determining the
dust hazard in Earth orbit to dust telescopes capable of providing
compositional analysis and accurate trajectory determination of individual dust
particles in space. The concept of Dust Astronomy has been developed,
recognizing that dust particles, like photons, carry information from remote
sites in space and time. From knowledge of the dust particles' birthplace and
their bulk properties, we learn about the remote environment out of which the
particles were formed. Dust Observatory missions like Cassini, Stardust, and
Rosetta study Saturn's satellites and rings and the dust environments of comet
Wild 2 and comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, respectively. Supplemented by
simulations of dusty processes in the laboratory we are beginning to understand
the dusty environments in space.
