NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has returned a sample from asteroid Bennu, revealing it contains key materials from the early solar system, including carbon, nitrogen, and organic compounds. The sample also shows signs of a watery past, suggesting Bennu may have originated from a primitive ocean world. This discovery provides valuable insights into the conditions of the early solar system and the potential origins of life on Earth.
After a decade and $1.2 billion investment, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has returned a small but significant 121.6-gram sample of asteroid dust from Bennu, exceeding the minimum requirement of 60 grams. Despite the small size, the sample holds great scientific value for studying the origin of life and conditions in the early Solar System. The scientific community had to wait longer than expected for the sample's reveal due to technical challenges, but now, researchers around the world will explore the material's properties, with NASA reserving 70 percent for future study.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission successfully retrieved a sample from the asteroid Bennu, but struggled to open the container holding the sample upon its return to Earth. After months of effort, engineers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston used a specially designed clamp and screwdriver to finally open the container and retrieve around 70 grams of dust and rock. The sample will aid research on the composition of early asteroids and the origins of life, while the engineers will investigate why the fasteners became stuck to improve future space missions.
NASA successfully removed two stuck fasteners on the lid of the return capsule from its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, revealing 2.48 ounces of asteroid material collected from the space rock Bennu. The remaining material, including dust and rocks up to 0.4 inch in size, will be analyzed in the coming weeks. The spacecraft has been sent on a second mission to the asteroid Apophis, now named OSIRIS-APEX, to study the space rock and its surface.
NASA has released the first high-resolution images of the contents of the Bennu asteroid sampler, revealing black dust and rocks up to 1 cm in size that have remained untouched for around 4.5 billion years. After successfully opening the sampler's lid, the team will now determine the mass of the 70-gram asteroid dust sample and prepare to transfer the remaining sample for storage and future analysis at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The success of this mission reaffirms the significance of space exploration and the commitment to advancing our understanding of the cosmos.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has successfully accessed the asteroid material it collected after freeing two stuck fasteners that had locked away the precious cargo. The spacecraft made history in September 2023 by becoming the first U.S. mission to return an asteroid sample to Earth. With the fasteners removed, scientists will now be able to access the bulk of the asteroid material, including dust and rocks, and determine its final mass in the coming weeks. The samples from asteroid Bennu have the potential to provide invaluable insights into the formation and evolution of celestial bodies, furthering our understanding of the universe's mysteries. Additionally, the spacecraft, now called OSIRIS-APEX, is on a five-year journey to study the asteroid Apophis.
NASA successfully retrieved a sample from the Bennu asteroid, capturing a picture of the charcoal-like space gravel after overcoming challenges with the canister's screws. This marks the first asteroid sample brought back to Earth, with a detailed full-resolution image available for download on NASA's website.
NASA successfully opened its asteroid Bennu sample container, revealing a collection of dust and rocks scraped off Bennu by spacecraft OSIRIS-REx. The Touch-and-Go-Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) resides in a special compartment to prevent contamination, and the team had to develop new tools to open the container. In other news, Apple's Vision Pro mixed-reality headset is available for pre-order, NVIDIA's RTX 4070 Super offers raw power for gaming, and Russian state-sponsored hackers accessed the emails of Microsoft's senior leadership.
NASA successfully released a trapped sample of rocks and dust from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, which had been stuck behind fasteners for months. The space agency used specially designed surgical steel tools to pry open the mechanism and plans to photograph, extract, and weigh the hidden cache. Previous analysis of material from Bennu revealed abundant water and carbon, providing insights into the origins of water on Earth.
NASA is still unable to open the canister containing an asteroid sample, two months after its discovery. The sample, collected from asteroid Bennu, holds important clues about the origin of the solar system and the formation of Earth. Despite successfully retrieving 70.3 grams of rocks and dust from outside and inside the sample head, two of the 35 fasteners on the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) cannot be removed with the current tools approved for use. NASA is now focusing on developing new tools to access the remaining 250 grams of the sample.
In 2023, significant advancements were made in space exploration, including SpaceX's progress with the Starship program and NASA's successful Osiris-Rex mission that collected the largest asteroid sample ever received on Earth. India became the fourth country to land a spacecraft near the moon's south pole, joining the US, Russia, and China. Water ice on the moon's surface became a focus of interest for future human presence. NASA also announced the crew members for the Artemis II mission, scheduled for late 2024, and the James Webb Space Telescope provided unprecedented views of distant galaxies, stars, and black holes.
NASA is facing difficulties in opening the canister containing rocks and dust collected from asteroid Bennu during the OSIRIS-REx mission. The space agency expects to open the canister in early 2024 after developing new tools to preserve the pristine rocks. Despite the challenges, NASA has already collected bonus samples from outside the canister, exceeding their goal of 60 grams. The mission has proven its worth with the early analysis revealing an abundance of carbon and water molecules, supporting the theory of life's building blocks arriving on Earth via asteroids. NASA is currently working on developing and testing new tools to safely retrieve the sample while protecting it from contamination.
NASA has identified the root cause of the parachute glitch that occurred during the landing of the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return capsule. Inconsistent labeling in the landing plans led to the out-of-order deployment of the parachute. The glitch occurred due to the wiring of the capsule's parachute triggers, causing the drogue parachute to deploy at the wrong altitude. Despite the design flaw, the capsule landed safely on Earth. NASA plans to test the parachute release system to prevent similar issues in the future.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission successfully collected a sample from the asteroid Bennu and brought it back to Earth. The sample, which represents only a small portion of the total collected, is now on display at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The asteroid sample holds evidence of carbon and water, elements critical to life, and its presence on Earth provides valuable insights into the formation of our solar system. The mission, now known as OSIRIS-APEX, will continue its journey to another asteroid, Apophis, to gather more data.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission successfully collected an asteroid sample from Bennu, but scientists have been unable to open the sample container due to difficulties with removing the last two fasteners. The sample is being kept in a cleanroom at Johnson Space Center, constantly flooded with nitrogen to prevent contamination. Scientists are working on new methods to open the container while studying the materials they've already recovered.
