September 24th was a memorable day for NASA. Its capsule with samples of the asteroid Bennu collected by the OSIRIS-REx probe landed on Earth after a journey of several billion kilometers. As a reminder: Bennu is considered a relic from the early days of our solar system and is therefore an object of great scientific value. And obviously the “fishing” was good.
An essential mission
The primary objective of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) mission was to collect samples from an asteroid called Bennu to bring back to Earth for detailed analysis. This object was chosen for its richness in organic compounds, providing an exceptional opportunity to study them primitive materials of the solar system.
In addition to collecting samples, the OSIRIS-REx mission was tasked with studying the asteroid Bennu in detail. This included mapping its surface, analyzing its chemical and mineralogical composition, studying its gravitational field and analyzing its thermal and dynamic behavior. These in-depth studies were essential for a better understanding of asteroids and their role in the evolution of the solar system.
Another main goal of the mission was to contribute to research Origins of life. By collecting asteroid samples rich in organic compounds, scientists hoped to discover prebiotic molecules, or key elements that may have played a role in the emergence of life on Earth.
A view of the southern hemisphere and space from Bennu, showing the distribution of rocks and a debris cloud emerging from them. Photo credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
A rich harvest
Other than that, the hope was to collect something at least 60 grams made of Bennu material. Ultimately, the OSIRIS-REx team returned much more than expected. So far, researchers have actually extracted 70.3 grams of material from the exterior and part of the interior of the sampler. The material remaining in the collector is later sucked out.
As a reminder, NASA plans to share this wealth with the scientific community by providing 25% of samples to more than 200 researchers at 25 facilities, 4% to the Canadian Space Agency and 0.5% to JAXA (the Japanese spacecraft). passes on. The remaining 70% will be stored at the Johnson Space Center for future study, similar to how the Apollo lunar samples continue to be studied decades after their return to Earth.
The OSIRIS-REx team also explains that they encountered challenges extracting the remaining sample in the capsule. Two of the 35 fasteners on the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) head proved difficult to remove with current tools. Therefore, new approaches are being developed to extract the remaining material while maintaining its integrity.
Recall that a few days ago the OSIRIS-REx team examined a few grams of these samples after a seven-year wait. And the results, released on Wednesday, October 11, seemed promising. The latter actually indicates that the asteroid Bennu is rich both in the waterwith water-bearing clay minerals and in Carbon-containing compounds. In other words, this asteroid contains molecules that are involved in the development of life on Earth.