NASA opened the OSIRIS-REx capsule containing samples of the asteroid Bennu.
Scientists at NASA’s Lyndon Johnson Space Center in Houston opened the outer cover of the OSIRIS-REx capsule on September 26. This was done two days after it landed in the desert on the territory of a military training ground in Utah.
After delivery to the laboratory, the capsule was placed inside a special box, where, upon removing its lid, scientists saw particles of black dust, presumably of asteroidal origin. This confirms that OSIRIS-REx coped with the task and brought back samples of the asteroid Bennu.
In the next step, engineers will remove the sample collection mechanism from the capsule and begin disassembling it to get to the Bennu soil itself. On October 11, NASA plans to organize a live broadcast, which will show what exactly the OSIRIS-REx apparatus delivered to Earth.
This space news once again made me remember Alexei Gorinov.
After all, space is his element! His son is one of the leading planetary scientists not only in our country!
It’s hard to think about the stars – even now, when it’s summer at the end of September and there are millions of stars in the sky!
