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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

☆ OSIRIS-APEX mission sets off for new asteroid target
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —After successfully delivering NASA’s first asteroid sample collected in space, the OSIRIS-REx mission, now renamed OSIRIS-APEX, is embarking on a new journey — this time to study an asteroid that will closely approach Earth in just a few years. The asteroid was named for the Egyptian god of chaos and darkness and is believed to be shaped like a peanut. An artist's rendering shows OSIRIS-APEX kicking up dust so it can study Apophis. What Apophis could revealApophis is of interest because it’s an S-type, or stony, asteroid, in contrast to Bennu, which is a C-type, or carbonaceous, asteroid. The spacecraft’s ability to closely orbit the asteroid can reveal the surface strength of stony asteroids and how much weathering the asteroid endures in the space environment.

Persons: CNN —, NASA’s, REx, OSIRIS, ”, Dani DellaGiustina, APEX's, Heather Roper, Dante Lauretta, ” Lauretta, “ Organizations: CNN, APEX, University of Arizona, Space Center, NASA, “, NASA’s Center Locations: NASA’s, Houston, Europe, Africa

☆ How NASA has prepared to scoop up an asteroid sample landing in the desert
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —An asteroid sample stowed inside a NASA spacecraft is about to reach Earth after traveling for nearly 2½ years across space. It’s NASA’s first time collecting and returning an asteroid sample from space. Teams have been rehearsing how to retrieve the sample, originally collected from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, when it drops down into the Utah desert on September 24. Keegan Barber/NASAThe mission’s original goal was to retrieve a pristine asteroid sample. The team has also prepared for different landing scenarios, such as a hard landing where the capsule containing the sample opens unexpectedly.

Persons: NASA’s, REx, ”, Nicola Fox, ” It’s, Keegan Barber, Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS, “, Rich Burns, ” Burns, Burns, Sandra Freund, Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Freund, Molly Wasser, Kevin Righter, curation, Christopher Snead, ” Snead, ” Lauretta Organizations: CNN, NASA, Goddard, University of Arizona, Department of Defense's Utah, Department of Defense’s Utah, Goddard Space Flight, Lockheed, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Space, Apollo, Space Center, Canadian Space Agency, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency Locations: Utah, Bennu, Tucson, Salt Lake City, Greenbelt , Maryland, Houston, Johnson

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