NASA Finally Opens Canister Filled With 4.6-Billion-Year-Old Asteroid Dust
While most of the rock samples collected by NASA¡¯s Osiris-Rex mission were retrieved soon after the canister landed in September, there was additional material inside a sampler head that proved difficult to access.
In a major achievement, NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston has successfully opened a canister containing asteroid dust, four months after it descended through the Earth¡¯s atmosphere into the Utah desert.
It¡¯s open! It¡¯s open! And ready for its closeup. After successfully removing two final fasteners on Jan. 10, members of the @astromaterials team photographed the #OSIRISREx asteroid sample with a special technique to achieve super high-res images. https://t.co/bBrfFT3FoR pic.twitter.com/NTGMVFZCP3
¡ª NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) January 19, 2024
Scientists managed to dislodge the last two of 35 fasteners
NASA announced on Friday that they have successfully removed two stuck fasteners, allowing access to some of the samples collected in 2020 from the 4.6-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu. Bennu is classified as a ¡°potentially hazardous¡± asteroid with a one in 1,750 chance of colliding with Earth by 2300.
While most of the rock samples collected by NASA¡¯s Osiris-Rex mission were retrieved soon after the canister landed in September, there was additional material inside a sampler head that proved difficult to access. After months of efforts, scientists at the Johnson Space Center managed to dislodge the last two of 35 fasteners, making it possible to access the remaining material inside the canister.
¡°It¡¯s open! It¡¯s open!¡± exclaimed NASA¡¯s planetary science division on Twitter. A photograph of dust and small rocks inside the canister was also posted on social media.
The team at Johnson Space Center designed custom tools made from a specific grade of surgical, non-magnetic stainless steel to pry it open, ensuring that the samples wouldn't be contaminated by Earthly air. The nine-ounce sample will now be analyzed by NASA.
Bennu, the source of the collected samples, is a 4.6-billion-year-old asteroid, and the Osiris-Rex mission aims to study the early solar system's composition and planet formation through the analysis of these samples.
AP
Spacecraft now heading to explore peanut-shaped asteroid named Apophis
The spacecraft, having completed its mission with Bennu, is now heading to explore a peanut-shaped asteroid named Apophis. Initially considered a potential Earth impact threat, Apophis is expected to pass close to Earth in 2029 without causing a collision.
Eileen Stansbery, Division Chief for Ares (Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science) at Johnson, expressed excitement over the successful opening, stating that they are all eager to see the remaining treasure Osiris-Rex holds.
Dr. Nicole Lunning, Osiris-Rex curator at Johnson, praised the curation team for their impressive resilience and incredible work in getting the stubborn fasteners off the TAGSAM head, allowing them to continue the disassembly process.
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