On Wednesday, NASA is scheduled to reveal the first images of the largest asteroid sample ever collected in space, as well as the first analyzes of its composition, which scientists around the world are eagerly awaiting.
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The Osiris-Rex mission took this sample in 2020 from the asteroid Bennu, and the capsule containing the precious cargo successfully returned to Earth a little more than two weeks ago, landing in the American desert.
Since then, the delicate process of opening the capsule has been done in a white room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The process has already reserved some surprises.
“There is a lot of material that is taking us longer than expected to recover it,” said NASA scientist Christopher Snead. He added in a press release that this was “the best problem we could have.”
Before the capsule landed, the US space agency estimated that it had succeeded in capturing about 250 grams of material from the asteroid Bennu, much more than two previous Japanese missions to other asteroids.
NASA, for which this was the first maneuver, will have to confirm this estimate on Wednesday during a public event, then a press conference.
But the feedback so far couldn’t be more positive.
Christopher Snead explained that the material was found “in abundance” even outside the collection chamber. “It’s really amazing.”
“Black dust”
The happy surprise can be explained by an incident that occurred when the sample was being collected: immediately after the operation, NASA realized that the lid of the collection chamber could not close.
The cargo was secured by being transferred as planned to the capsule, but because of this leak, scientists expected to find remains outside the chamber, in the box in which it was located.
This “black dust” and “debris,” as NASA puts it, were entrusted to a rapid analysis team, in order to get an initial idea of Bennu’s composition.
The sample is examined using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and infrared measurements.
This would make it possible to obtain a list of the observed minerals, and perhaps determine their proportion. In particular, scientists believe that Bennu contains hydrated minerals.
Studying asteroids should allow scientists to better understand the formation of the solar system and how Earth became habitable.
Some scientists believe that asteroids such as Bennu brought compounds to Earth that later allowed life to be born.
The majority of the specimen will be preserved for future generations to study with new, more efficient tools and to answer new scientific questions. This is what was done to the lunar rocks returned during the Apollo program.
Benue’s analysis may also be useful in the future. There is a small chance (1 in 2,700 chance) that the asteroid will hit Earth in 2182, an impact that would be catastrophic.
Knowing its exact composition can therefore help, if necessary one day, in calculating the effect necessary to deviate its path.
