CNN Indonesia
Monday, 25 Sep 2023 06:01 IWST
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully sent asteroid samples to Earth via capsule. (NASA)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
After traveling billions of km with a space probe OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer) NASArock and dust samples from the Asteroid Bennu successfully reached Earth.
NASA, in information on its official website, revealed that the capsule landed on Sunday (24/9) at 08.52 MDT (21.52 WIB), in the targeted area at the US Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Area, near Salt Lake City.
“Congratulations to the OSIRIS-REx team on a perfect mission – the first American asteroid sample return in history – that will deepen our understanding of the origins of our solar system and its formation,” said NASA Director Bill Nelson.
Within an hour and a half, the capsule was transported by helicopter to a temporary sterile room set up in a hangar on the training ground. At that location, the capsule is supplied with nitrogen.
Nitrogen is used in sample cleaning because it is a gas that does not interact with most other chemicals. Its continuous flow into the sample container inside the capsule will prevent Earth contamination and remain pure for scientific analysis.
NASA said samples collected from Bennu “will help scientists around the world make discoveries to better understand planet formation and the origins of the organic material and water that led to life on Earth.”
Additionally, it benefits all of humanity by learning more about potentially dangerous asteroids.
“Moreover, Bennu is a potentially dangerous asteroid, and what we learn from its samples will help us better understand the types of asteroids that may come our way,” said Nelson.
The Bennu sample, estimated to be 8.8 ounces or 250 grams, was transported in an unopened tube by plane to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Monday (25/9).
Scientists will disassemble the tube, extract and weigh the sample. In addition, they made an inventory of rocks and dust, and then distributed Bennu samples to scientists around the world.
Long journey
OSIRIS-REx itself was launched on September 8, 2016. The NASA team then drove it until it arrived at Asteroid Bennu on December 3, 2018, through the search for a safe sample collection site between 2019 and 2020.
Sample collection was carried out on October 20 2020, and the return journey began on May 10 2021.
Overall, OSIRIS-Rex covered almost 6.4 billion km of the Earth-Bennu round trip over 7 years.
“Today marks a tremendous milestone not only for the OSIRIS-REx team but also for science as a whole,” said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
“The success of sending samples from Bennu to Earth is a triumph of collaborative intelligence and a testament to what we can achieve when we unite with a common goal,” he added.
However, Lauretta emphasized that this was only the beginning. “We now have an unprecedented opportunity to analyze these samples and delve deeper into the secrets of our solar system.”
After traveling billions of km to Bennu and back again, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft released its sample capsule into the Earth’s atmosphere at 17.42 WIB.
At that time, the spacecraft was 63,000 miles (102,000 kilometers) from the Earth’s surface or about a third of the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
Traveling at a speed of 27,650 meters per hour (44,500 km per hour), the capsule penetrated the atmosphere at 21.42 WIB, to then enter off the coast of California, USA, at an altitude of around 83 miles (133 kilometers).
Within 10 minutes, the capsule landed at the military range. During its journey, two parachutes were successfully deployed to stabilize and slow the capsule to a speed of 11 meters per hour (18 km per hour) when it landed.
“The entire team enjoyed the day, but this was focused anticipation of a significant event by a well-prepared team,” said Rich Burns, OSIRIS-REx project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Radar, infrared, and optical instruments in the air and on the ground tracked the capsule to its landing coordinates within a coverage area of 36 miles x 8.5 miles (58 kilometers x 14 kilometers).
Within minutes, a recovery team was sent to the capsule’s location to examine and retrieve it. The team found the capsule in good condition at 22.07 WIB.
The team then determined that the capsule was safe to approach. Within 70 minutes, they wrapped it up for safe transport to a temporary clean room on site and underwent a “nitrogen purge.”
(team/arh)
2023-09-24 23:01:14
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