‘Double the sample, double the fun’: NASA got double the amount of asteroid Bennu sample

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully brought back 4.29 ounces (121.6 grammes) of material from asteroid Bennu upon its return to Earth on 24 September 2023. This remarkable achievement not only marks the largest asteroid sample ever collected in space but also surpasses the mission's initial requirement by over double, NASA revealed on Saturday.

The team aimed to acquire a minimum of 60 grams of material to fulfil the mission's scientific objectives, a goal that was surpassed even before the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) head was fully opened.

Also Read |Dead stars 'glitches' may indicate source of rapid radio bursts

Add WION as a Preferred Source

By October 2023, curation processors from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, part of the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) division, successfully retrieved small rocks and dust from both the interior of the large canister housing the TAGSAM head and from within the TAGSAM head itself via its mylar flap, wrote NASA on its blog.

The black, carbon-rich samples from Bennu, which are the first ever collected by NASA, are stored at a special curation lab at Houston’s Johnson Space Center.

Last September, Osiris-Rex brought back the samples, completing the retrieval three years after gathering them from the asteroid. The haul for the $1 billion mission could have been larger; however, rocks obstructed the container's lid during the grab, causing some samples to float away.

Also Read |Japan successfully launches new H3 rocket following setback last year

The spacecraft is now on its way to another asteroid, but that will involve only a flyby with no stop for samples.

NASA’s OSIRIS Rex Mission

NASA's OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) mission is a robotic spacecraft mission designed to study and return a sample of the asteroid Bennu to Earth. Launched in September 2016, OSIRIS-REx arrived at Bennu in December 2018.

The mission's objectives include understanding the origins of the solar system, studying the composition of near-Earth asteroids like Bennu, and assessing the potential resources they may offer.

Also Read |Human bodies shaped by ancient viruses millions of years ago: study

After successfully collecting the sample in October 2020, OSIRIS-REx began its return journey to Earth, ultimately delivering the sample in September 2023. The analysis of this sample is expected to provide valuable insights into the early solar system and the formation of planets, including Earth.

(With inputs from agencies)