NASA has succeeded in bringing assist to Earth a capsule containing samples gathered from an asteroid — a first for the gap company.
The sample return capsule (SRC) from the OSIRIS-REx mission landed at 8:52 a.m. MT (10:52 a.m. ET) on Sunday in a focused home of the Division of Defense’s Utah Take a look at and Coaching Differ near Salt Lake Metropolis.
“A accelerate of a thousand million miles to asteroid Bennu and assist has reach to an pause, marking The United States’s first sample return mission of its variety and opening a time capsule to our old vogue solar system,” the are living-circulation commentator announced because the capsule touched down.
It’s been an fabulous accelerate, too, with the spacecraft launching correct over seven years in the past on an formidable mission to set a spacecraft on a miles away asteroid, web samples, and then rep them the total manner assist to Earth.
After being dropped off by the spacecraft some 60,000 miles (96,000 km) from Earth, a are living circulation confirmed the SRC streaking all the way thru the sky off the accelerate of California as it decelerated from 27,650 mph (44,500 kph) to correct 11 mph (18 kph) at touchdown.
OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return (Legit 4K NASA Broadcast)
A helicopter digicam then tracked the capsule as its orange-colored parachute slowed it down right thru the final descent.
A few minutes later, a mission operator confirmed the SRC’s touchdown.
TOUCHDOWN! The #OSIRISREx sample capsule landed on the Utah Take a look at and Coaching Differ at 10:52am ET (1452 UTC) after a 3.86-billion mile accelerate. This marks the US's first sample return mission of its variety and will originate a time capsule to the beginnings of our solar system. pic.twitter.com/N8fun14Plt
— NASA (@NASA) September 24, 2023
And then received the predominant legit visible of the capsule.
The first group participants to reach the capsule performed a chain of safety tests.
After a accelerate of nearly 3.9 billion miles, the #OSIRISREx asteroid sample return capsule is assist on Earth. Teams carry out the preliminary safety evaluate—the predominant persons to reach into contact with this hardware because it modified into once on the other facet of the solar system. pic.twitter.com/KVDWiovago
— NASA (@NASA) September 24, 2023
Nevertheless, the capsule compulsory to rep airborne one extra time as it modified into once carried by helicopter to a neat room.
Here we uncover concerning the capsule arriving on the neat room.
Your kit has been delivered.
The #OSIRISREx sample return capsule containing rock and dirt restful in space from asteroid Bennu has arrived at quick-time interval neat room in Utah. The 4.5-billion-yr-feeble sample will presently head to @NASA_Johnson for curation and diagnosis. pic.twitter.com/Ke0PcDAKt0
— NASA (@NASA) September 24, 2023
Participants of the mission group witness all the way thru the capsule for the predominant time since its return.
On the original time's #OSIRISREx asteroid sample touchdown isn't correct the pause of a 7-yr, 3.9-billion-mile accelerate thru space. It takes us 4.5 billion years assist in time.
These rocks will befriend us observe the starting set of organics and water that would possibly perhaps perhaps well bear seeded existence on Earth.… pic.twitter.com/sHLRrnWqAg
— NASA (@NASA) September 24, 2023
NASA chief Invoice Nelson hailed the predominant American asteroid sample return in history as a serious success, voicing the hope that this would possibly perhaps perhaps well “deepen our working out of the starting set of our solar system and its formation.” He additionally famed that Bennu is in the meanwhile listed as a doubtlessly hazardous asteroid (there’s an outdoors likelihood of it striking Earth in 2182, although we ought to peaceable be in a status to redirect it if it does pose a serious threat), and acknowledged that studying extra about its composition would possibly perhaps perhaps well exclaim us extra concerning the categories of asteroids that will reach our manner.
Two previously worthwhile asteroid sample return missions encompass Japan’s Hayabusa and Hayabusa2, which restful topic matter from different asteroids in 2005 and 2019, respectively, earlier than bringing them to Earth.
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