Eager space enthusiasts and researchers alike can tune into a live-streamed news conference at 11:00 am Eastern Time (1500 GMT) where NASA plans to debut the images along with initial scientific interpretations.
NASA gears up for the grand reveal of images showcasing the largest asteroid sample ever retrieved from space. Anticipated to shine light on our solar system’s infancy and perhaps life’s beginnings, this celestial treasure trove, sourced from the asteroid Bennu, promises invaluable insights.
After its ambitious OSIRIS-REx mission successfully gathered rock and dust samples from Bennu in 2020, NASA saw the sample capsule touch down safely in Utah in September. Now, the sample is undergoing meticulous examination within NASA’s specialized clean room at the Johnson Space Center, Houston.
Eager space enthusiasts and researchers alike can tune into a live-streamed news conference at 11:00 am Eastern Time (1500 GMT) where NASA plans to debut the images along with initial scientific interpretations.
A Noteworthy Feat
While OSIRIS-REx wasn’t the pioneer in asteroid rendezvous missions—Japan clinched that title with samples in both 2010 and 2020—what sets NASA’s mission apart is the sheer volume of the sample. Weighing in at 250 grams, the Bennu sample starkly contrasts the 5.4 grams brought back by Japan’s Hayabusa2.
Bennu was NASA’s chosen sampling target owing to its abundant organic compounds. Theories suggest asteroids akin to Bennu could have brought organic elements and water to Earth via collisions billions of years prior. Furthermore, Bennu’s orbit, coinciding with Earth’s, rendered the mission more feasible than targeting the distant Asteroid Belt.
A delightful surprise for NASA was the discovery of “bonus particles”, described as a layer of black dust and debris on the sample collector. Christopher Snead, deputy OSIRIS-REx curation lead, remarked, “The very best ‘problem’ to have is that there is so much material, it’s taking longer than we expected to collect it.” He further added, “It’s really spectacular to have all that material there.”
Peeling Back Bennu’s Secrets
Believed to have materialized from fragments of a larger asteroid post a colossal collision up to two billion years ago, Bennu offers a unique composition. The spacecraft data indicated a surface so porous that it would be akin to stepping into a pit of plastic balls for a human.
Understanding Bennu’s makeup is not just an academic endeavor. Given a potential collision risk with Earth between the mid-2100s and 2300—though slim at 1 in 1750 chances—such knowledge could be crucial for future asteroid redirection efforts.
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