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Successful end to a long journey through space: the largest sample of an asteroid ever collected in space landed safely in the desert of the US state of Utah on Sunday. «Landing of the Osiris-Rex monster capsule. A journey of a billion kilometers to the asteroid Bennu and back has come to an end,” a spokesperson for the American space agency NASA said on Sunday during the live broadcast of the landing. NASA described the sample as “historic.”
The capsule returned to Earth after seven years in space and a journey of 6.5 billion kilometers. The American space probe Osiris-Rex left for the asteroid Bennu in September 2016 and, after a four-year journey, landed on the celestial body for a few seconds in October 2020 to collect rock and dust samples. Bennu is located about 330 million kilometers from Earth and has a diameter of 500 meters.
According to NASA, the capsule, loaded with approximately 250 grams of material, landed as scheduled at 8:52 a.m. (local time, 4:52 p.m. CEST) at a military site in Utah, after a risky entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Beyond that lies a path of approximately 6.21 billion kilometers.
Historical time capsule
Images released by NASA showed the tire-sized capsule on the ground in a desert area and scientists approaching it and taking the first measurements.
The sample contained in the capsule was “truly historic,” NASA scientist Amy Simon told the AFP news agency. It is the “largest sample we have returned to Earth since the Apollo moon rock samples returned to Earth.” The first sample ever to land in the US will “open a time capsule to the beginning of our solar system,” NASA explained on the online service X, formerly known as Twitter.
The capsule had previously been dropped from the Osiris-Rex probe at an altitude of over 100,000 kilometers. Over the past 13 minutes, it has raced through the atmosphere at a speed of more than 44,000 kilometers per hour and a temperature of up to 2,700 degrees Celsius.
Parachute defective
According to NASA, the probe’s fall would have to be slowed by two parachutes, the correct deployment of which is crucial to avoid a “hard landing”. However, one of the two parasols opened much earlier than expected: at an altitude of 6,000 meters instead of around 1,500 meters.
The samples taken are intended to help NASA “better understand the types of asteroids that could threaten Earth,” said Bill Nelson, head of the space agency. They could also provide information about the formation of the solar system.
After landing, a NASA team carefully transported the capsule by helicopter to a nearby makeshift “sterile room” to avoid contaminating the sample with desert sand, which could skew test results. The capsule is expected to be delivered to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Monday.
The probe continues to travel through space
Only 25 percent of the samples are analyzed immediately, with the rest saved for better-equipped researchers in the future. The first results will be announced during a press conference on October 11.
Asteroids are made from the primordial material from which the solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists believe the asteroid Bennu is rich in carbon and contains water molecules trapped in minerals.
According to NASA, the probe itself continues its journey through space. Accordingly, in the meantime, it has ignited its engines and set course for another asteroid. (kes/AFP)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
