NASA Successfully Brings Asteroid Sample Back to Earth, Now Faces Challenge to Retrieve Rest
In a groundbreaking achievement, NASA scientists have successfully brought an asteroid sample back to Earth, making them the first U.S. space agency to accomplish this feat. The sample was collected from Asteroid Bennu by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which logged about seven years of traveling, scanning, and collecting samples before its return on September 24, 2023.
Although the sample has safely landed, NASA now faces the challenge of retrieving the rest of the sample sealed within the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM). According to NASA, the agency needs to figure out how to open the TAGSAM to retrieve the remaining portion of the sample.
The Bennu sample dropped into the Utah desert by OSIRIS-REx holds significant scientific potential. Scientists hope that it will provide clues about whether asteroids colliding with Earth billions of years ago could have brought water and other essential ingredients for life on our planet.
Though the TAGSAM head is still sealed, NASA has managed to collect an impressive preliminary sample of 2.48 ounces, or 70.3 grams, of rock and dust from the sampler hardware. This amount has already exceeded NASA’s goal of bringing at least 60 grams of material back to Earth.
The challenge lies in accessing the rest of the sample that is sealed inside the TAGSAM. NASA’s scientists at the Johnson Space Center in Houston attempted to remove the TAGSAM head, but encountered difficulties with two of the fasteners that are proving stubborn to remove. Despite this setback, scientists have successfully collected materials that were on the outside or inside the OSIRIS-REx sample collector’s head by leveraging tweezers or a scoop.
To retrieve what remains inside the TAGSAM head, NASA’s team will use a new technique over the next few weeks. They will then process the material collected and initiate an analysis of the bulk sample. To maintain the sample’s integrity, the TAGSAM head is currently stored in a sealed container surrounded by an O-ring and a Teflon bag.
Due to the specialized glovebox environment in which all the sample work has been performed to prevent exposure to Earth’s atmosphere, any proposed solutions for accessing the rest of the sample must meet the requirements of fitting inside the glovebox without compromising the scientific integrity of the collection.
Initial studies of the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid sample have already shown promising results. The rock contains a high-carbon content and water, which are believed to be the building blocks of life on Earth. The investigation of the carbon compounds found in the sample could provide insights into the formation of the solar system, the origins of life on Earth, and necessary precautions to prevent asteroid collisions.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson expressed the significance of this mission, stating, “Almost everything we do at NASA seeks to answer questions about who we are and where we come from. The sample has made it back to Earth, but there is still so much science to come – science like we’ve never seen before.”
As NASA continues to unlock the secrets held within the asteroid sample, the scientific community eagerly awaits the groundbreaking discoveries that lie ahead.
More: Researchers find signs of rivers on Mars, a potential indicator of ancient life.