[ad_1]
Bennu is located more than 100 million miles from planet Earth and is a rocky mass that looks like a giant oak tree that formed in the early days of our solar system, and scientists say it may contain clues to the origins of life in the earth.
Principal Investigator of the Osiris Rex spacecraft at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Dante Loretta, said in a NASA live stream: "Everything went as it should … we overcame the incredible challenges posed by this asteroid and the spacecraft seemed to be working perfectly.".
The sample collection device attached to the arm is designed to release compressed gas to capture the rock sample.
Before the sample was taken, NASA planetary scientist Lucy Lim said "A lot could go wrong because the spacecraft is the size of a pickup truck and the asteroid has a lot of rocks. So we have to go between the rocks to get our sample and plan a lot that".
Asteroids are among the remnants left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago.
Scientists believe that asteroids and comets that collided with Earth in early stages provided it with the organic compounds and water necessary for life on the planet, and atomic analysis of samples taken from the asteroid Bennu may provide important evidence to test this hypothesis. .
“>
The NASA probe landed on the surface of the asteroid “Bennu”, which is characterized by being rugged, and collected a rock sample dating from the period of the emergence and formation of our solar system.
The “Osiris Rex” spacecraft extended its 3.35 meter long robotic arm into a flat patch of gravel near the north pole of asteroid “Bennu” and captured the rock sample, the first handful of virgin asteroid rocks for NASA. .
“The collection of samples is complete,” said Estelle Church, responsible for carrying out the mission of the spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin, according to Reuters.
Church confirmed that the spacecraft, which has been in orbit around the asteroid for two years, drifted away from the asteroid after successfully completing the mission.
The probe is expected to send back images of the sample collection on Wednesday, so scientists can examine the amount of material collected and determine if the probe will need to make another attempt to collect samples.
If the collection of samples is successful, the spacecraft, which launched from the Kennedy Center in 2016, will return to Earth and arrive in 2023.
It is worth noting that Japan is the only other country that has already achieved such a thing, when the “Hayabusa 2” spacecraft landed on the asteroid “Ryugu”.
Bennu is located more than 100 million miles from planet Earth, and is a rocky mass that looks like a giant oak tree that was formed in the early days of our solar system, and scientists say it may contain clues to the origins of life. on earth.
“Everything went as it should … We overcame the amazing challenges this asteroid posed, and the spacecraft appears to have performed flawlessly,” said Dante Loretta, principal investigator for the Osiris Rex spacecraft at the University of Arizona in Tucson, on a NASA live broadcast.
The sample collection device attached to the arm is designed to release compressed gas to capture the rock sample.
Before taking the sample, NASA planetary scientist Lucy Lim said, “A lot could go wrong because the spacecraft is the size of a small truck and the asteroid has a lot of rocks. So we have to go between the rocks to get our sample and planning that a lot. “
Asteroids are among the remnants left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago.
Scientists believe that asteroids and comets that collided with Earth in early stages provided it with organic compounds and water necessary for life on the planet, and atomic analysis of samples taken from the asteroid Bennu may provide important evidence to test this hypothesis.
[ad_2]
