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☆ NASA unlocks last of OSIRIS-Rex asteroid sample trapped by stuck fasteners
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Two stubborn fasteners trapped invaluable material sampled from an asteroid — but after a monthslong process, it has finally been released, NASA announced Thursday. The space agency already harvested about 2.5 ounces (70 grams) of rocks and dust from its OSIRIS-REx mission, which traveled nearly 4 billion miles to collect the unprecedented sample from the near-Earth asteroid called Bennu. But NASA revealed in October that some material remained out of reach in a capsule hidden inside an instrument called the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism — a robotic arm with a storage container at one end that collected the sample from Bennu. The sampler head is held shut by 35 fasteners, according to NASA, but two of them proved too difficult to open. What the asteroid sample has revealed so farAs of Thursday afternoon, NASA said the trapped sample material had not yet been revealed.

Persons: REx, ”, Nicole Lunning, REx curation, NASA’s, Dante Lauretta Organizations: CNN, NASA, Space Center, Johnson Space Center, University of Arizona Locations: Houston

☆ Scientists discover ‘best problem’ as they open up asteroid sample
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Scientists have taken their first glimpse of a sample collected from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu — and stumbled upon a good bit more than they expected. “There’s a lot of abundant material outside the TAGSAM head that’s interesting in its own right. It’s really spectacular to have all that material there.”The actual asteroid sample won’t be revealed until October 11 in a live NASA broadcast. The TAGSAM head will be moved to a new specialized glovebox for careful disassembly, unveiling the sample inside. “We have all the microanalytical techniques that we can throw at this to really, really tear it apart, almost down to the atomic scale,” said Lindsay Keller, OSIRIS-REx sample analysis team member, in a statement.

Persons: Rex, NASA’s, OSIRIS, REx, ”, Christopher Snead, REx curation, “, Lindsay Keller, “ You’ve, ” Keller Organizations: CNN —, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, NASA, Bennu Locations: Utah, Houston, Bennu

☆ OSIRIS-REx: A long-awaited asteroid sample has landed in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Seven years after launching to space, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft flew by Earth Sunday to deliver the pristine sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. The sample capsule, about the size of a large truck tire, and its main parachute can be seen after landing in the Utah desert. What the sample may revealDetails about the sample will be revealed through a NASA broadcast from Johnson Space Center on October 11. If a government shutdown occurs, “it will not endanger the curation and safe handling of the asteroid sample,” said Lori Glaze, director for NASA’s Planetary Sciences Division. “Scientists believe that the asteroid Bennu is representative of the solar system’s own oldest materials forged in large dying stars and supernova explosions,” Glaze said.

Persons: REx, Rich Burns, OSIRIS, Sandra Freund, Burns, ”, Dante Lauretta, Nicole Lunning, REx curation, NASA’s, Lauretta, Lori Glaze, ” Glaze Organizations: CNN, NASA, Earth Sunday, Goddard, University of Arizona, Defense Department’s Utah, Goddard Space Flight, Lockheed, Space Center, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Monday, Johnson Space Center, Canadian Space Agency, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA’s Planetary Sciences Locations: Bennu, Greenbelt , Maryland, Tucson, Utah, Houston

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