NASA curation staff member in addition to Lockheed Martin recovery professionals search after the effective removal of the sample return canister cover. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
NASAs OSIRIS-REx sample collection from asteroid Bennu exceeded expectations in product amount, slowing the curation procedure. Advanced analysis approaches are underway, with a more in-depth examination prepared for the coming weeks.
The initial curation procedure for NASAs OSIRIS-REx sample of asteroid Bennu is moving slower than expected, but for the very best reason: the sample runneth over. The abundance of material found when the science canister lid was gotten rid of previously this week has actually implied that the process of dismantling the TAGSAM (Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) head– which holds the bulk of material from the asteroid– is off to a systematic start.
Unanticipated Findings
After the collection occasion on Bennu 3 years ago, scientists expected they could find some asteroid material in the cylinder outside the TAGSAM head when they saw particles gradually escaping the head before it was stowed. The real quantity of dark particles finish the inside of the cylinder cover and base that surrounds the TAGSAM is even more than they d anticipated.
” The really finest issue to have is that there is so much material, its taking longer than we anticipated to gather it,” said deputy OSIRIS-REx curation lead Christopher Snead of NASAs Johnson Space. “Theres a lot of plentiful material outside the TAGSAM head thats intriguing in its own. Its truly incredible to have all that material there.”
Animation of NASAs OSIRIS-REx spacecraft leaving the surface area of asteroid Bennu after gathering a sample. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab/SVS
Analysis of the Sample
The first sample collected from outside the TAGSAM head, on the avionics deck, is now in the hands of researchers who are performing a quick-look analysis, which will offer a preliminary understanding of the Bennu material and what we can anticipate to find when the bulk sample is revealed.
” We have all the microanalytical techniques that we can toss at this to actually, truly tear it apart, almost down to the atomic scale,” said Lindsay Keller, OSIRIS-REx sample analysis staff member from Johnson.
The quick-look research will make use of numerous instruments, consisting of a scanning electron microscopic lense (SEM), infrared measurements, and X-ray diffraction (XRD), to get a much better understanding of the sample.
Captured on October 20, 2020, throughout the OSIRIS-REx objectives Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection occasion, this series of 2 images reveals the SamCam imagers field of vision at the minute before and after the NASA spacecraft touched down on asteroid Bennus surface. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
The SEM will use a chemical and morphological analysis, while the infrared measurements ought to offer information on whether the sample includes hydrated minerals and organic-rich particles. The X-ray diffraction is delicate to the different minerals in a sample and will offer a stock of the minerals and maybe a sign of their proportions.
” Youve got really first-class people and instruments and facilities that are going to be striking these samples,” Keller stated.
This quick-look science is a tool that will use more information to scientists as they approach the larger pieces of sample for follow-up analysis.
Next Steps
Over the coming weeks, the curation team will move the TAGSAM head into a different customized glovebox where they will carry out the intricate procedure of disassembly to eventually reveal the bulk sample within.
