December 23, 2024

NASA’s Big Reveal: Asteroid Sample Collected in Space, Delivered to Earth

This artists principle reveals the OSIRIS-REx (Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security– Regolith Explorer) spacecraft contacting the asteroid Bennu with the Touch-And-Go Sample Arm Mechanism or TAGSAM. The mission aims to return a sample of Bennus surface covering to Earth for study in addition to return detailed information about the asteroid and its trajectory. Credit: NASA
NASAs Johnson Space Center will expose the USs very first asteroid sample from the seven-year OSIRIS-REx objective on October 11. This sample will supply insights into the solar systems formation and the origin of life in the world.
The very first asteroid sample collected in area and gave Earth by the United States will be revealed at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston on Wednesday, October 11, and media accreditation is now open.
NASA will host a press conference at 11 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. PDT) for the reveal, which will air survive on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the companys site.

OSIRIS-REx is NASAs very first asteroid sample return mission. The objectives thrilling finale will take location on September 24, 2023, as OSIRIS-REx releases a capsule including the Bennu samples for goal in the Utah desert.
During the event, NASAs OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security– Regolith Explorer) science group will go over an initial analysis of the sample, which is expected to land on Sunday, September 24, in the Utah desert.
After the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft gets in Earths environment and safely lands, NASA professionals will gather the rocks and dust retrieved from the asteroid Bennu inside the capsule, and bring the sample to NASA Johnson for assessment in a beautiful curation center.
News conference participants include:

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
Francis McCubbin, OSIRIS-REx deputy curation lead, NASA Johnson
Daniel Glavin, OSIRIS-REx sample analysis lead, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt
Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal private investigator, University of Arizona, Tucson

The objective intends to return a sample of Bennus surface area finish to Earth for research study as well as return detailed information about the asteroid and its trajectory. OSIRIS-REx is NASAs first asteroid sample return objective. The objectives thrilling finale will take place on September 24, 2023, as OSIRIS-REx releases a capsule including the Bennu samples for goal in the Utah desert. NASA has developed a devoted OSIRIS-REx Sample Curation Laboratory where managers from the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science team will handle distribution of samples to scientists around the world over the coming years. A portion of the sample will likewise be scheduled for research study decades from now, making use of innovations that will improve over the years.

A Seven-Year Journey and Beyond
Goal at the Department of Defenses Utah Test and Training Range near Dugway, Utah, on September 24, will mark the end of a seven-year journey to check out the asteroid Bennu, gather a sample from its surface area, and provide it to Earth.
The next stage of the objective, which consists of both curation and research activities, will begin after the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule gets to Johnson on Monday, September 25. The curation team will thoroughly take apart the sample container to extract the bulk of the sample and researchers will perform a first-look analysis of the sample, the outcomes of which will be gone over for the first time on October 11.
Laboratory and Future Research
NASA has actually established a dedicated OSIRIS-REx Sample Curation Laboratory where managers from the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science team will handle circulation of samples to scientists worldwide over the coming years. Those scientists seek for more information about how our planet and planetary system formed, along with the origin of organics that may have resulted in life on Earth. A part of the sample will also be scheduled for research decades from now, utilizing technologies that will improve for many years.
Johnson houses the worlds biggest collection of astromaterials from the solar system under one roofing, including samples from asteroids, comets, Mars, the Moon, Sun, and dust from other stars. Scientists utilize first-rate laboratories to perform research on planetary materials and the space environment to investigate the origin and evolution of our planetary system and beyond.