OSIRIS-REx’s Asteroid Sample Arrives in Houston for Further Study
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made its second touchdown in just two days, bringing with it a precious collection of dirt and gravel from the asteroid Bennu. The sample, which was collected in October 2020, touched down in the Utah desert on Sunday, September 24, before being transported to its final destination in Houston, Texas on September 25.
The news of the sample’s arrival in Houston was shared by NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) on X (formerly Twitter). In a post, JSC welcomed OSIRIS-REx and highlighted the significance of the mission’s findings: “The asteroid sample arrived today in Texas where it will be curated and preserved by our team here at Johnson. The information collected could help scientists around the world investigate planetary formation, the origins of life, and how asteroids might impact Earth.”
OSIRIS-REx, which was launched in September 2016, reached Bennu in December 2018. After closely studying the asteroid for 22 months, the probe successfully collected samples from Bennu’s surface, marking the first time NASA had successfully retrieved pieces of an asteroid in space.
The spacecraft departed from Bennu in May 2021, and on Sunday morning, it released its sample capsule, which landed on the Utah Test and Training Range as planned. The sample will now be transported to a newly built curation facility at JSC, managed by the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science division.
Over the next two years, a team of over 200 scientists from 35 institutions worldwide will study the sample to achieve OSIRIS-REx’s primary scientific objectives. These include gaining a better understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system and investigating the role played by carbon-rich asteroids like Bennu in delivering the building blocks of life to Earth.
Approximately 25% of the Bennu material, weighing an estimated 8.8 ounces (250 grams), will be available for study by the OSIRIS-REx science team. The Canadian Space Agency will receive 4% of the sample, while the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will obtain 0.5% as part of a collaborative agreement between OSIRIS-REx and JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission, which also returned a sample of the asteroid Ryugu in 2020.
The remaining 70% of the Bennu sample will be preserved at JSC for future study by yet-to-be-born scientists, using technologies yet to be invented, to continue unraveling the mysteries of the solar system.
The arrival of the OSIRIS-REx sample in Houston marks another significant milestone in NASA’s ongoing mission to explore the depths of space and uncover the secrets of our cosmic origins. With the knowledge gained from this expedition, scientists hope to unlock invaluable insights into the workings of the universe.