Johnson houses the worlds biggest collection of astromaterials from the planetary system under one roofing, consisting of samples from asteroids, comets, Mars, the Moon, Sun, and dust from other stars. Researchers utilize first-rate laboratories to perform research study on planetary materials and the space environment to examine the origin and development of our planetary system and beyond.
NASAs OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security– Regolith Explorer) mission is an asteroid study and sample-return mission. Released in 2016, the spacecraft rendezvoused with the near-Earth asteroid Bennu in 2018 to study its composition, geological properties, and to gather a sample.
The objective aims to restore at least 60 grams of the asteroids surface area product to Earth in 2023. This will help scientists comprehend more about the formation and evolution of the solar system, the sources of water and organic particles in the world, the resources in near-Earth space, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could affect Earth.
The spacecraft has successfully collected the sample and is on its method back to Earth. It is anticipated to drop the sample pill on September 24, which will parachute down into the Utah desert, where a team will be ready to recover it and transport it to a new laboratory developed for the product at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASAs OSIRIS-REx curation group rehearse the opening of the asteroid sample container in the newly developed OSIRIS-REx Curation lab at Johnson Space. Credit: NASA
Ahead of the very first asteroid sample collected by the U.S. arriving on Earth in September, media are invited on Monday, July 24, to meet mission scientists and see NASAs newly-built OSIRIS-REx Sample Curation Laboratory where the firm will study the sample at its Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The asteroid Bennu, the target of the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security– Regolith Explorer) objective, is a carbonaceous asteroid whose regolith might tape the earliest history of our solar system. The Bennu sample might consist of the molecular precursors to the origin of life and Earths oceans, and its study likewise will help scientists understand world formation.
NASAs OSIRIS-REx spacecraft leaving the surface area of asteroid Bennu after collecting a sample. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab/SVS
The media day will include opportunities to consult with topic experts and capture still and moving imagery at the curation lab. Full interviews with subject professionals will be available after the laboratory trip concludes.