The OSIRIS-REx probe should collect at least 60 grams of material. This is enough to start the research, but it surprised the authors of the mission and downloaded as many as 400 of them. Photos sent to Earth showed that large particles of material blocked the lid of the container in which it was collected. Therefore, the hatch cannot close and some of the collected material “escapes” into space. The particles escape through a one-centimeter wide aperture.
“We’ve almost become a victim of our own success,” said Dante Laurett, principal mission researcher and professor at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, reporting to the University of Arizona.
“Time is of the essence”
Now NASA is working to quickly and safely place the container in the capsule, however, this means it will not be possible to determine exactly what mass of the sample was saved before the probe returned to Earth in 2023. – Time is of the essence – he stressed Thomas Zurbuchen, deputy administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, expressing hope that as little material as possible will be lost.
She touched the asteroid for several seconds
The sampling operation lasted four and a half hours and was technically extremely complicated. The spacecraft left its orbit around the asteroid and got close enough to touch it. Due to the distance between the asteroid and Earth, communication with the team was delayed by approximately eighteen and a half minutes.
First, the spacecraft launched its thrusters to leave its safe orbit around the asteroid approximately 762 meters from its surface. In four hours, she got close enough to begin adjusting position and speed, then extend her arm. After this maneuver, she slowed down to target the path and follow the asteroid’s rotation on contact. The solar panels folded into the letter Y to prevent the ship from colliding.
The probe finally touched the surface of Bennu for less than 16 seconds. The spacecraft fired pressurized nitrogen into the asteroid, using gas as a way to lift material off the asteroid’s surface. The collection head has picked up the agitated material.
Thanks to the Bennu sample, scientists will be able to learn more about asteroids that can interact with Earth, about the formation of planets, and how life appeared on them.
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