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NASAhas revealed the very first peek at the sample hoard by OSIRIS - REx — the space agency ’s first successful mission to collect a rock chunk from a distantasteroid .
The sample distribution — between 3.5 to 8.8 ounces ( 100 to 250 gramme ) of jolting distance rubble collected from the asteroid Bennu ’s control surface — contains water and carbon , scientists announced at a news conference at NASA ’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Wednesday ( Oct. 11 ) .
A view of the sample inside the OSIRIS-REx sample collector.
NASA scientist unveiled the sample two weeks after ithurtled back to Earthat speed of up to 27,000 miles per hour ( 43,000 kilometre / h ) on Sept. 24 . After a seven - year , 4 billion - mi ( 6.4 million kilometers ) roundtrip , the space capsule deploy its parachute and safely landed in the Utah desert before being transported to Johnson Space Center , where scientists have start analyzing its depicted object for polarity oflife beyond our satellite .
Related : NASA ’s OSIRIS - REx capsule returns to Earth with a sample from the ' potentially hazardous ' asteroid Bennu
Bennu is apotentially hazardous asteroidthat has a1 - in-2,700 chanceof striking Earth in the yr 2182 — the highest odds of any known space object . But the scientist are more concerned in what ’s trap inside the space John Rock : the possible extraterrestrial forerunner of living on Earth .
Two images taken by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft show the sampling arm touch the surface of asteroid Bennu.
" This is the biggest carbon - copious asteroid sample distribution ever returned to Earth , " NASA administratorBill Nelsonsaid atthe news group discussion . " Carbon and water system molecules are on the nose the element we wanted to find . They ’re crucial factor in the formation of our own planet , and they ’re sound to help oneself us fix the origins of elements that could have led to life story . "
Earth ’s pee is one-time than the satellite itself and was in all likelihood brought here by star-shaped andcomet impacts . But water was n’t the only material asteroids brought to Earth : The edifice block of life in all probability hitched a ride on a distance rock , too . Bennu is a B - character asteroid , which intend it contains eminent amounts ofcarbonand , potentially , many of the primeval particle present when biography come out on Earth .
Some of these construction blocks , include U , one of the nucleobases for RNA , were recentlyfound on the asteroid Ryuguby the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft , which returned to Earth with its rock sample in 2020 . OSIRIS - REx missionary post scientists are hop to discover other possible precursors for Earth ’s biology inside the Bennu sample .
— chip of asteroid Ryugu are among ' most aboriginal ' material ever examined
— Boulders on Ryugu are surprisingly fluffy , outer space probe find
— Asteroid Ryugu ’s weird spinning - top shape explained
" As we peer into the ancient secrets preserved within the junk and rocks of asteroid Bennu , we are unlocking a time abridgement that offer us unsounded insights into the origins of oursolar system,“Dante Lauretta , OSIRIS - REx ’s principal investigator , said at the word league .
" The bounty of carbon - rich material and the abundant presence of water - accept the Great Compromiser mineral are just the tip of the cosmic iceberg lettuce , " he add . " These discovery , made possible through years of dedicated collaboration and slip - edge skill , propel us on a journeying to understand not only our celestial neighborhood but also the potential for life ’s beginnings . With each revelation from Bennu , we draw closer to unraveling the mysteries of our cosmic heritage . "
The sample distribution was collectedafter almost two years of fraught searchingfor a landing place web site on Bennu ’s craggy Earth’s surface . Upon touch with the asteroid , OSIRIS - REx fired a volley of nitrogen from its Touch - and - Go Sample - Acquisition mechanics — not only to nonplus the landing but to preclude the craftsmanship from slump through the asteroid .
The blast institutionalize rock and dust keel around the foxiness , and some of that rocky debris landed in a canister aboard OSIRIS - male monarch . A abide by - up blast of OSIRIS - REx ’s thrusters later lifted it from Bennu , and the spacecraft completed a bit of overpass before leaving the asteroid for Earth in May 2021 .
