NASA Achieves Historic Asteroid Sample Return, Boosting Scientific Discoveries
NASA has accomplished a groundbreaking mission by successfully bringing back an asteroid sample to Earth in September, becoming the first U.S. space agency to do so. Now, the challenge lies in opening the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) to retrieve the remaining sample, as reported by NASA.
Over a span of seven years, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft embarked on a remarkable journey, scanning and collecting samples from Asteroid Bennu before finally returning to Earth on September 24, 2023.
As NASA stated on their website, “Scientists are eager to analyze the Bennu sample OSIRIS-REx dropped into the Utah desert. It may provide valuable insights into whether asteroids crashing into Earth billions of years ago brought water and other essential ingredients for life.”
Although scientists are still devising a plan to access the sealed TAGSAM head and retrieve the remaining sample, they have already managed to collect an impressive 2.48 ounces, equivalent to 70.3 grams, of rock and dust from the sampler hardware. Surpassing NASA’s initial goal of bringing back at least 60 grams of material.
Here’s what we know so far:
How Will NASA Scientists Retrieve the Remaining Sample?
The majority of the collected sample is located on the outside and inside the OSIRIS-REx sample collector’s head, accessible through the head’s mylar flap. The remaining portion is within the TAGSAM mechanism.
A team of scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston has made multiple attempts to remove the TAGSAM head. Unfortunately, two out of the 35 fasteners proved challenging to remove with the available tools.
According to Francis McCubbin, an Astromaterials Curator at the Johnson Space Center, “The TAGSAM Head has more than 35 fasteners, but there were only 35 we ever planned to remove. The two that are stuck were among the last fasteners to be removed. All the other fasteners were removed successfully. We do not know why those last two are stuck, but we are actively working on potential solutions while also continuing to make progress on our sample processing procedures for the 70.3 grams of material that have already been extracted from the TAGSAM.”
The team has successfully collected some material by manipulating the head’s mylar flap and extracting the sample with tweezers or a scoop, depending on the size. Over the next few weeks, scientists will focus on removing the remaining sample from the TAGSAM head using a novel technique, processing the materials, and commencing a comprehensive analysis of the bulk sample, as reported by NASA on October 20.
The TAGSAM head has been detached from the nitrogen environment within the specialized glovebox and stored in a sealed transfer container, protected by an O-ring and surrounded by a sealed Teflon bag to preserve the safety of the sample while the team explores solutions to access the rest of it.
Since all the sample-related procedures, including the TAGSAM head’s handling, have taken place in a dedicated glovebox under a nitrogen flow to shield it from Earth’s atmosphere, any tools proposed for the solution must fit within the glovebox and maintain the scientific integrity of the collection, as per NASA’s guidelines.
What has NASA Uncovered So Far?
Preliminary studies of the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid sample have revealed significant findings. High-carbon content and water are present in the rock, indicating that it may contain the building blocks of life on Earth, according to NASA.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson previously expressed, “Almost everything we do at NASA seeks to answer questions about who we are and where we come from. NASA missions like OSIRIS-REx will improve our understanding of asteroids that could threaten Earth while giving us a glimpse into what lies beyond. The sample has made it back to Earth, but there is still so much science to come – science like we’ve never seen before.”
The nature of the discovered carbon compounds holds the potential to shed light on the formation of the solar system, the origins of life’s precursor materials on Earth, and the necessary precautions to prevent possible asteroid collisions.
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