In Washington, on Wednesday, NASA reveals the first images of the largest asteroid sample ever collected in space, in addition to the first analyzes of its composition, in data that scientists around the world are eagerly awaiting.
The OSIRIS-REx mission took this sample in 2020 from the asteroid Bennu, and the capsule containing the precious payload successfully returned to Earth a little more than two weeks ago, landing in the American desert.
Since then, the delicate process of opening the capsule has been held at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The process did have some surprises in store.
“There is a lot of material that is taking us longer than expected to recover it,” said NASA scientist Christopher Snead, adding in a statement that this is “the best problem we can have.”
Before the capsule landed, the US Space Agency estimated that it was able to capture about 250 grams of material from the asteroid Bennu, much more than the quantities collected by two previous Japanese missions from other asteroids.
NASA, for which this was the first maneuver, will have to confirm this estimate on Wednesday during a public event followed by a press conference.
But the feedback so far is very positive.
Christopher Sneed explained that materials were found “in abundance” even outside the collection chamber, adding, “It’s truly amazing.”
“black dust”
The happy surprise can be explained by an incident that occurred when collecting the sample: immediately after the operation, NASA realized that the lid of the collection chamber had not closed successfully.
The cargo was secured by being transferred as planned to the capsule, but because of this leak, scientists expected to find remains outside the chamber in the box in which it was located.
This “black dust” and this “debris,” as NASA puts it, was entrusted to a rapid analysis team in order to get an initial idea of the composition of the asteroid Bennu.
The sample is examined using a scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, and infrared measurements.
This would allow obtaining a list of the metals that were monitored, and perhaps determining their percentage. In particular, scientists believe that the asteroid Bennu contains hydrated minerals.
It is expected that studying asteroids will allow scientists to better understand the formation of the solar system, and how the Earth became habitable.
Some scientists believe that asteroids such as Bennu brought compounds to Earth that later allowed life to appear.
The majority of the sample will be preserved for future generations to study with new, more efficient tools and to answer new scientific questions.
This is what actually happened with the lunar rocks collected during the Apollo program.
Analysis of asteroid Bennu may also be useful in the future.
There is a small chance (about one in 2,700) that the asteroid will hit Earth in 2182, a collision that would be catastrophic if it happened.
Therefore, knowing its precise composition could help, if necessary one day, calculate the collision needed to deflect its path.
