<
https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/09/nasa-spacecraft-returns-to-earth-with-pieces-of-an-asteroid/>
"A small capsule carrying pristine specimens from an asteroid parachuted to a
landing in the Utah desert Sunday, capping a seven-year voyage through the
Solar System to bring home samples for eager scientists seeking clues about the
origins of life.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission brought back the largest unspoiled sample of material
ever returned to Earth from beyond the Moon, probably on the order of about 250
grams, or roughly 8 ounces, according to estimates. The spacecraft collected
the samples from asteroid Bennu, a loosely bound rocky world about the size of
a small mountain, during a touch-and-go landing in October 2020.
It's the third asteroid sampling mission in history, and the first for the
United States, following two Japanese spacecraft that returned a smaller
quantity of asteroid specimens to Earth in 2010 and 2020.
The OSIRIS-REx mission was tinged with suspense and drama from start to finish.
The project's original lead scientist died in 2011, months after NASA selected
his OSIRIS-REx mission concept for funding. In 2016, the spacecraft was stacked
on top of its United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket awaiting liftoff from Cape
Canaveral, Florida, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a ground test
barely a mile away. That sent thick plumes of black smoke over the Atlas V
launch pad and briefly knocked offline an air conditioning system needed to
keep OSIRIS-REx safe before launch.
Then, in 2020, when OSIRIS-REx collected its sample from Bennu, the spacecraft
overfilled its collection chamber. The asteroid was made of much looser
material than scientists predicted, so diffuse that the spacecraft could have
kept plowing into Bennu had it not performed a pre-planned back-away maneuver.
Sunday make-or-break sample return also had everyone's hearts pumping. At the
end of its 4 billion-mile celestial journey, the OSIRIS-REx mothership
spacecraft released a 32-inch-wide (81-centimeter) sample return capsule early
Sunday as it darted toward Earth. More than four hours later, the capsule
landed at the US Air Force's Utah Test and Training Range southwest of Salt
Lake City at 8:52 am local time (10:52 am EDT or 14:52 UTC).
Scientists working on NASA's $1 billion OSIRIS-REx mission watched anxiously as
the capsule came back to Earth, braving temperatures of more than 5,000 degrees
Fahrenheit after slamming into the atmosphere at 27,650 mph (12.3 kilometers
per second)."
Via
Future Crunch:
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-net-zero-rhinos-africa-maternal-asia/
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*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
