KMagED
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has successfully delivered the first-ever samples from an asteroid to Earth, after a seven-year journey through space. The spacecraft released a capsule containing the precious cargo on Saturday, which parachuted down to a landing site in Utah.
The samples were collected from the asteroid Bennu, a rocky remnant from the early solar system that could hold clues to the origins of life on Earth. OSIRIS-REx touched down on Bennu’s surface in October 2020, and scooped up about 60 grams of dust and pebbles.
The mission team celebrated the historic achievement, which marks the end of one phase of the mission and the beginning of another. The capsule will be transported to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where scientists will carefully open it and analyze the contents.
“This is an incredible moment for NASA, our OSIRIS-REx team, and for science,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “We have accomplished an amazing feat – bringing back to Earth a piece of the ancient solar system that will help us answer fundamental questions about our planet, our origins, and our place in the cosmos.”
The samples from Bennu could also help us understand the potential hazards and resources of near-Earth asteroids, which could be targets for future exploration and mining. Bennu is one of the most potentially hazardous asteroids, as it has a small chance of impacting Earth in the late 22nd century.
OSIRIS-REx is not done with Bennu yet, though. The spacecraft will remain in orbit around the asteroid until May 2022, when it will begin its return journey to Earth. Along the way, it will perform one last flyby of Bennu, to observe how the surface has changed after the sample collection.
OSIRIS-REx is the third NASA mission to bring back samples from an extraterrestrial body, after Apollo and Stardust. It is also the largest sample return since Apollo, and the first from an asteroid. The mission has achieved many milestones and set several records, such as orbiting the smallest and most distant body ever, and performing the shortest and most precise touchdown maneuver ever.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx team has shown us what is possible when we combine human ingenuity, perseverance, and curiosity. They have made history and inspired generations of future explorers. Congratulations to them on this remarkable accomplishment!
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