  50% of the heavy element abundances are produced via slow neutron capture
reactions in different stellar scenarios. The underlying nucleosynthesis models
need the input of neutron capture cross sections. One of the fundamental
signatures for active nucleosynthesis in our galaxy is the observation of
long-lived radioactive isotopes, such as $^{60}$Fe with a half-life of
$2.60\times10^6$ yr. To reproduce this $\gamma$-activity in the universe, the
nucleosynthesis of $^{60}$Fe has to be understood reliably. A $^{60}$Fe sample
produced at the Paul-Scherrer-Institut was activated with thermal and
epithermal neutrons at the research reactor at the Johannes
Gutenberg-Universit\"at Mainz. The thermal neutron capture cross section has
been measured for the first time to $\sigma_{\text{th}}=0.226 \
(^{+0.044}_{-0.049})$ b. An upper limit of $\sigma_{\text{RI}} < 0.50$ b could
be determined for the resonance integral. An extrapolation towards the
astrophysicaly interesting energy regime between $kT$=10 keV and 100 keV
illustrates that the s-wave part of the direct capture component can be
neglected.
