Osiris-Rex successfully collects samples from the asteroid Bennu



[ad_1]

Possible Small Satellite: NASA’s Osiris-Rex is more successful than the space agency predicted. At the end of the left Rex we were 200 million miles away and its lead was used to stretch nitrogen gas on the surface and in space rocks on the asteroid’s surface creating a vacuum – a proud and dynamite.

But for Dante Loretta, principal investigator and planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, this is rarely the case in the halls of the Johnson Space Center – very successful. “This is an extraordinary mission for us. We couldn’t have done a better collection experiment: it was successful, we collected hundreds of grams of samples, but the biggest concern is that the particles will leak out. “

– Advertising –

Rex used a touch and go sample acquisition mechanism or a system called tagum. The device was essentially a robotic arm and a vacuum cleaner that resembled a giant circular shower head. The three gas containers loaded into the tagam provide three opportunities to collect at least 60 grams (2 zon) of the asteroid.

Problem: Collector pod exceeded minimum requirements on first attempt and failed to close collector head. Loretta’s team, in fact, believes they have seized at least 400 grams of material.

However, NASA did its best: to solve the problems. Since it was not possible to close the flap, the team wanted to reduce the amount of sample lost to space, so they focused on closing the sample head as quickly as possible.

Solution: The NASA team carefully transferred the sample head to a storage container with an open flap and placed it safely inside. Samples can be fixed to two locking systems. Pull your arm evenly over your head to make sure it is positioned. As President Trump focuses on his return to the Moon and Mars, NASA sees this mission as inevitable, which will help explain the origin of our solar system.

– Advertising –

Asteroids can contain carbon and other organic compounds, including building blocks of life not found in meteorites. To get clues as to how life began on Earth billions of years ago, scientists have to go somewhere where there is no life yet, and Bennu is the perfect candidate.

One of the reasons Bennu was chosen is because scientists believe it was once part of a much larger space rock. The theory is that early in the history of our solar system, two asteroids collided and exploded. Likewise, the 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid is a perfectly preserved cosmic time capsule.

OSIRUS-REx is now entering the final stages of a 16-year mission under construction. NASA began planning the mission in 2004. In 2016, Rex left home and moved to Bennu. The satellite reached Benu in 2018 and began its orbit, orbiting the asteroid with laser beams to measure the surface and taking about two years.

Osiris-Rex will remain in orbit around Bennu until March before embarking on its two and a half year journey back to Earth. Upon arrival, the specimen collection container will detach from the spacecraft and parachute and land in the Utah desert in September 2023.

– Advertising –

The only way to safely land on Earth is to travel 200 million miles and avoid space collisions and cosmic radiation. But for NASA, it’s just another day at the office.

Want to post on Apple News, Google News, and more? Join our community of writers, improve your writing skills and get read by millions of people around the world!

Source: Smithsonian

More from space – News landed

+ A Mars Trojan could be the lost twin of our Moon
+ NASA announces new launch date for SpaceX Crew-1 on the ISS

+ Johnny Depp exits the Fantastic Beasts franchise
+ New study suggests Florida will receive more rain in the summer

[ad_2]
Source link