Alan Hildebrand, a professor and planetary scientist at the University of Calgary, is part of a team of scientists who have the privilege of studying a sample of the asteroid Bennu, which returned to Earth on September 24th.
At 4.5 billion years old, the asteroid Bennu is also the largest group of asteroids ever reported on our planet. It is believed to contain clues to the formation of the solar system and the evolution of the planets.
He […] could help us understand what happened to Earth and how it formed in the later stages of its evolution, says Alan Hildebrand of the University of Calgary’s Department of Earth, Energy and Environment.
The asteroid specimen comes from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, which launched in 2016.
Alan Hildebrand has been participating in this mission since 2009, as part of a team of around a hundred scientists, including five Canadians, studying the sample’s composition, age, durability and thermal properties.
He was even able to witness the spacecraft’s return after the mission, traveling with friends to the Nevada desert to watch the spacecraft fly over Earth on its return.
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The specimen of the asteroid Bennu (close-up in the photo) comes from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission launched in 2016.
Photo: AFP / NASA
An asteroid exploding
Bennu is a dark specimen, a term for asteroids that can help scientists study the formation of the solar system. In addition, we do not have many meteorites from this type of asteroid and their spectrum is slightly different, points out the Calgary planetologist.
Another aspect that makes this specimen unique has to do with the way it was collected: NASA’s spacecraft spent a year mapping the asteroid. Which, in his opinion, allows us to better understand its origins.
When a meteorite falls to Earth, we don’t know where it came from, but in this case we can make a connection between certain elements in the rock and the asteroid from which they came.
Earth’s atmosphere can actually contaminate asteroid samples when they hit the planet.
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The box containing Bennu’s sample will not be opened until Monday, October 16th.
Photo: Associated Press
mission accomplished
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says the OSIRIS-REx mission was perfect because what was discovered was exactly what researchers had hoped for. It is the largest sample of a carbon-rich asteroid ever returned to Earth.
“We’re trying to figure out who we are, what we are, where we come from and what our place is in this vastness of the universe,” he explains as he addressed the crowd during the Bennu event at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston Presentation on Wednesday.
According to Nelson, this mission is a key element in helping NASA intercept asteroids that could threaten our planet.
This also applies to the asteroid Bennu, which could hit Earth in around 150 years, adds Alan Hildebrand.
The Albertan points out that the University of Calgary has more than 20 years of experience studying rare and delicate space rocks: We have learned how to prepare small specimens and push the boundaries.
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The mission team is only allowed to examine 25% of the sample. Shown is an external view of the OSIRIS-REx capsule sampler.
Photo: NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold
4% of the sample remains in Canada
Since part of the mission takes place in Canada, Mr. Hildebrand states that the country can also keep 4% of the sample.
The mission team is only allowed to study 25 percent of the sample, the rest will be archived by NASA’s Johnson Space Center for later analysis to take into account scientific advances and new technologies.
The box containing Bennu’s sample will not be opened until Monday, October 16th. After a few weeks of pictures and discussions, Alan Hildebrand hopes to begin examining the sample in November.
With information from Lily Dupuis and Julie Debeljak