NASA has scheduled a live event for October 11 to publicly unveil the contents of the Bennu asteroid sample-return capsule, which was successfully transported to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on September 24. During the broadcast, the US space agency intends to share not only the "initial findings" but also the "first images of the samples" obtained.
The OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer) project, which lasted seven years, came to an end when the samples from Bennu eventually touched down on Earth at the Utah Test and Training Range after travelling 3.9 billion miles via space. This was also the first asteroid sample collection mission by the US.
What the scientists hope to achieve
Scientists at NASA believe this mission will be instrumental in their exploration of the processes behind planetary formation and the origins of life, while also "improving their understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth" in the near future. Furthermore, according to NASA, scientists also "hope the pristine samples offer clues to whether asteroids colliding with Earth billions of years ago brought water and other key ingredients for life".
The pristine samples, believed to be rocks and dust, have the potential to offer insights into the beginning of our solar system, allowing us to journey back in time by as much as 4.5 billion years, according to scientists.
Samples currently at Johnson Space Center
Currently, these valuable samples are securely housed at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The canister containing the samples made its journey from Utah to Houston on September 25. On September 26, NASA scientists noticed that the "avionics deck of the canister" had "dark powder and sand-sized particles" when the lid was first removed.
Curation specialists will disassemble the Touch and Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) in order to retrieve the bulk sample inside. The Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) branch of the center is where these exact processes are carried out.
Majority of samples are to be kept in Houston
According to NASA, the Johnson Space Centre will preserve at least 75 percent of the samples to ensure continuous research around the world, and for future generations of scientists. A smaller portion of the samples will be sent to the Japanese and Canadian space agencies for the curation process.
Also Read: Asteroid Bennu sample analysis at Johnson Space Center: Key insights from mission scientists
From launch to return: Important dates
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which was launched on September 8, 2016, aboard an Atlas V411 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, reached asteroid Bennu in 2018. The spacecraft, after spending two years orbiting Bennu, made a big move on October 20, 2020, when it extracted about 250 gms of the asteroid material. The spacecraft left Bennu in May 2021 and travelled 3.86 billion miles to return to Earth. Finally, it safely landed back at the starting point of its trip after travelling for two years and four months since departure from Bennu. The seven-year journey to explore the asteroid Bennu came to an end with the touchdown.
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