At 10:52 a.m. EST on September 24, the capsule launched by NASA's Osiris-Rex probe successfully landed in the Utah desert as planned. The capsule carries samples taken by the probe from the asteroid Bennu, which can help scientists unravel the mystery of the origin of life.
The capsule carrying the asteroid Bennu sample successfully landed in the Utah desert.
NASA reportedly said the "real moment of truth" will be the opening of capsules loaded with 4.5 billion-year-old samples at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in the coming days.
NASA chief scientist Dante Lauretta said: "We are going back to the dawn of the solar system, we are looking for clues as to why Earth is a habitable world, a rare pearl in outer space with oceans and a protective atmosphere. The biggest question is the origin of life, and we believe we are bringing back this material, perhaps these asteroids that brought the seeds of life in the first place. ”
Schematic diagram of the mission of the probe OSIRIS-REx to sample the asteroid Bennu.
OSIRIS-REx, an acronym for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, landed briefly on the Bennu asteroid and scooped up samples with a robotic arm. Become the first U.S. mission to collect samples from an asteroid.
The probe samples at the asteroid Bennu.
In 2016, the $1 billion OSIRIS-Rex probe was lifted off on a rocket. Two years later, it arrived at the asteroid Bennu and in 2020 used a long-stick vacuum cleaner to grab gravel from the asteroid.
When the probe returned, it had already traveled 4 billion miles (6.2 billion kilometers).
After being released by the probe at 6:42 a.m. ET, the capsule rushed into the atmosphere at 27,650 miles per hour.
Crucially, the sample could not be contaminated by anything on Earth, and the parachute slowed it down to 11 mph after it unfolded at an altitude of 20,000 feet.
The samples were flown to a new lab at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA's recycling efforts in Utah include helicopters and makeshift clean rooms set up at the Department of Defense Utah's testing and training grounds.
On the morning of the 24th, the samples were flown to a new laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The lab has stored hundreds of pounds (kilograms) of lunar rocks collected by Apollo astronauts more than half a century ago.
Engineers estimated that the jar contained 250 grams (8.82 ounces) of substance from Bennu. Nicole Lunning, NASA's chief curator, said accurate measurements will take several weeks.
Photo taken by the probe while sampling the asteroid Bennu.
Bennu currently orbits the Sun, is 50 million miles (81 million kilometers) from Earth and about 1/3 mile (0.5 kilometers) in diameter, about the size of the Empire State Building in New York.
The name "Bennu" was chosen from more than 8,000 submissions submitted by students from dozens of countries around the world when they entered the "Name the Asteroid" competition in 2012.
Michael Puzio, a third-grader from North Carolina, came up with the name of the award, referring to a bird from ancient Egyptian mythology.
The asteroid is shaped like a spinning top and is said to be fragments of a much larger space rock.
During a two-year survey, Osiris-Rex discovered Bennu as a pile of rubble covered with boulders and craters.
Robotic arm for detector sampling.
The asteroid's surface is so loose that the probe's vacuum arm sank 0.5 meters deep into the asteroid, sucking up more material than expected.
Bennu is considered the most dangerous asteroid in the solar system because it intersects Earth's orbit and has the highest chance of hitting Earth among known space objects, which is expected to approach Earth dangerously in September 2182.
Scientists say the data collected by the probe will help any asteroid deflection efforts.
After the capsule was launched, Osiris-Rex is already chasing the asteroid Apophis, which will arrive in 2029.
Text/Nandu reporter Chen Lin