Hi everybody, and welcome back to another episode of the show
where we discuss some of the most groundbreaking advancements
in science and technology and contemplate the actual wonders
of the universe. In today's episode, we're
focusing on NASA's monumental achievement of completing its
first ever sample return mission from an asteroid.
The mission, named Osiris Rex, set the science capsule all the
way to asteroid Benduin back, covering a journey of about 1.2
billion miles. Launched in 2016, the capsule
reentered Earth's atmosphere at around 27,000 mph and has
delivered several 100 grams of asteroid material, offering
invaluable data that could help scientists understand our solar
system's earliest stages. Now, the capsule from Osiris Rex
spacecraft made its grand reentry into Earth's atmosphere
and finally landed in the Department of Defense's Utah
Test and Training Range. The landing site dimensions are
about 30 miles by 8.5 miles, who's chosen primarily because
of its status as the largest restricted airspace in the
United States. This venue has also been used
for previous NASA sample return mission such as Genesis and
Stardust, and the mission involved an incredible degree of
precision. Sandra Freund, the Osiris Rex
program manager, explained how the spacecraft had to navigate
with remarkable accuracy to rendezvous with asteroid Bennu
coming within just a meter of the target during the sample
collection phase in 2020. And recovery teams promptly
collect this sample from the Utah desert, initiating the
Campsule's journey towards analysis and examination.
So why did NASA invest in a simple return mission from an
asteroid? The principal investigator for
Osiris Recht noted that scientists are keen to study
trace organic molecule chemistry from the asteroid material.
It's not about suggesting that life originated elsewhere.
Rather, the idea is that essential building blocks of
life, often referred to as organic compounds, might have
been ferried to Earth by celestial bodies like asteroids.
And to adequately test this hypothesis, researchers need
samples directly from these asteroids, like Bennu and
previous meteorites were used. But they had limitations, such
as the lack of information about their origin and the risk of
contamination during their journey through Earth's
atmosphere. And Osiris Rex offers pristine
samples, providing an unparalleled opportunity for
scientists to confirm or refute longstanded theories.
And NASA isn't alone in this quest to bring back asteroid
samples. The Japanese space agency JAXA
has already completed two such missions, Hayabusa and Hayabusa
2 in the latter managed to return around 5 grams of
material from asteroid Ryugu in 2020.
And unlike competitive races, researchers say that these
missions are complementary. They work together, and both
asteroids Ryugu and Bennu may look similar with their spinning
top shapes, but they are different in size and color.
By examining the sample side by side, scientists can gain
valuable insights into both the similarities and differences
between these celestial bodies. And Loretta puts it this is not
about two separate sample analysis programs, but rather a
worldwide collective scientific endeavor.
To comprehend Earth's formation, it's essential to scrutinize the
whole solar system. Planets and star systems form
from collapsing gas clouds, which are represented by
remnants found in the oldest asteroids and asteroid.
Bennu is considered to be a snapshot of the solar system's
early days, dating back approximately 4.5 billion years.
And unlike Earth, which undergoes natural processes like
erosion that wipe out the earliest history, asteroids like
Venue serve as cosmic time capsules.
They hold the raw materials that predate even the oldest rocks on
Earth, making them incredibly precious for scientific
analysis. Osiris Rex has now brought a
fragment of this early solar system history back to Earth,
and researchers are eager to commence detailed
investigations. And after successfully returning
the sample, you might wonder what's next for the Osiris Rex
spacecraft. Well, it's got a new mission and
a new name, Osiris Apex. The spacecraft will now set its
sights on asteroid Apophis, which will make a close approach
to Earth in the coming years, potentially even visible to the
naked eye from specific locations.
And Osiris Apex will be tasked with following Apophis around
Earth, providing unique opportunity for additional
groundbreaking scientific observations.
And As for the banning sample, it's going to be transported to
Johnson Space Center in Houston, and within an hour and a half of
the landing of this capsule, it was transported by helicopter to
a temporary clean room set up in a hangar on the training range
where it is now connected to a continuous flow of nitrogen.
And getting a sample under a nitrogen purge, as scientists
call it, was one of the Osiris Trexes team's most critical
tasks. And nitrogen is a gas that
doesn't interact with most other chemicals, and a continuous flow
of it into the sample container inside the capsule will keep out
earthly contaminants to leave the sample pure for scientific
analysis. The return samples collected
from Bennu will help scientists worldwide make discoveries to
better understand planetary formation and the origin of
organics and water that led to life on Earth, as well as
benefit all of humanity by learning more about potentially
hazardous asteroids. Now the Bennu sample is about
8.8 oz, or 250 grams, and it'll be transported in its unopened
canister by aircraft and NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston
on Monday, September 25th. Curation scientists then will
disassemble the canister, extract and weigh the sample,
create an inventory of these rocks, dust in overtime,
distribute pieces of Bennu to scientists all over the world.
And this delivery of this asteroid sample, which is the
first for the United States, went according to plan thanks to
the massive effort of hundreds of people who remotely directed
the spacecraft's journey since its launch September 8th, 2016.
And the team then guided it to arrive at Bennu December 3rd,
2018 and through the search for a safe sample collection site
between 2019 and 2020 and sample collection on October 20th,
2020, and also during the return trip home on May 10th, 2021.
Now, after traveling billions of miles to Benu and back, the
Osiris Rex spacecraft released its sample capsule towards
Earth's atmosphere at 6:42 AM Eastern Time, and the spacecraft
was 63,000 miles from Earth's surface at the time, about 1/3
the distance from the Earth to the Moon, traveling at 27,650
mph. The capsule pierced the
atmosphere at 10:42 AM Eastern Time off the coast of California
at an altitude of about 83 miles, and within 10 minutes it
landed on the military range. Along the way, 2 parachutes
successfully deployed to stabilize and slow the capsule
down to around 11 mph. Radar, infrared and optical
instruments in the air and on the ground track the capsule to
its landing coordinates inside a 36 by 8.5 mile area of the
range. Within several minutes, the
recovery team was dispatched to the capsule's location to
inspect it and also retrieve it. And the team found the capsule
in really good shape at around 9:07 AM Eastern Time and or
11:07 AM Eastern Time. Excuse me.
And then determined if it was safe to approach.
And within 70 minutes they wrapped it up for a safe
transport to a temporary clean room on the range where it
remains under continuous supervision and a nitrogen
purge. Thank you so much for tuning
into this episode today. If you enjoyed today's
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curious and keep exploring the cosmos and take care of each
other and yourselves and I'll see you in the next one.