The largest asteroid sample ever gathered in space, whose first photographs will be released by NASA on Wednesday, is expected to provide information about the early history of our solar system and potentially even the beginnings of life.
In 2020, the OSIRIS-REx mission brought back rock and dust from the asteroid Bennu, and a capsule carrying the priceless cargo successfully landed in the Utah desert a little over two weeks ago.
It is currently being thoroughly examined at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in a specialist clean room.
At 11:00 am Eastern Time (1500 GMT), the space agency will host a live-streamed press conference to provide images and preliminary scientific findings.
The Japanese accomplished the feat twice, returning pieces of space rock in 2010 and 2020. OSIRIS-REx is not the first mission to rendezvous with an asteroid and send back samples for research.
However, the huge amount of material—250 grams (half a pound)—in contrast to the 5.4 grams recovered by Japan’s Hayabusa2—is an important distinction.
Bennu was chosen for sampling by NASA because it is thought to be a rich source of chemical molecules.
Similar asteroids may have collided with Earth billions of years ago, bringing water and organic building components to the planet.
The roundtrip travel was also simpler thanks to Bennu’s orbit, which crosses that of our planet and is more convenient than going to the Asteroid Belt, which is located between Mars and Jupiter.
The discovery of “bonus particles,” which are described as black dust and debris coating the sample collector, has so far encouraged NASA researchers.
A flap supposed to close it became stuck open with a fragment of rock back in October 2020 when OSIRIS-REx probe fired nitrogen gas towards Bennu to collect its sample, allowing some of the finer material to flow out of the collector without completely escaping.
“The very best ‘problem’ to have is that there is so much material, it’s taking longer than we expected to collect it,” said deputy OSIRIS-REx curation lead Christopher Snead, in a statement.
“It’s really spectacular to have all that material there.”
It is believed that between one and two billion years ago, in a cataclysmic collision, Bennu was created from fragments of a bigger asteroid in the asteroid belt.
The spacecraft’s data showed that the outside of the planet was made up of particles that were so loosely packed that if someone were to step upon it, they may sink in, much like stepping into a pit of plastic balls.
A greater understanding of Bennu’s makeup could be helpful if mankind ever wants to guide it away in addition to providing scientific discoveries.
According to NASA, there is no possibility that it will reach Earth before the middle of the year 2100, but between then and the year 2300, the likelihood increases to about 1 in 1750.
