Image via Getty/NASA
On Monday, a NASA spacecraft filled with asteroid rubble, called Osiris-REx, started its journey back to Earth. It should be here in checks watch roughly two-and-a-half years.
Osiris-REx first got to asteroid Bennu in 2018. For two years it flew near/around it. Then it touched down and collected debris. It’s estimated to be holding somewhere between half a pound to a full pound of tiny chunks of the asteroid. That seemingly dinky amount is actually a lot, as the original goal was to collect just two ounces.
The Associated Press writes that the haul will be the biggest for the U.S. since the Apollo crew(s) returned with moon rocks in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s. This also marks the first time that NASA has acquired pieces of an asteroid. Prior to this Japan had done it twice, but did so in very small amounts.
UPDATED: May 11, 2021 07:14 IST
Scientists hope to uncover some of the solar system’s secrets from the samples vacuumed last October from Bennu’s dark, rough, carbon-rich surface. (Image: NASA)
With rubble from an asteroid tucked inside, a NASA spacecraft fired its engines and began the long journey back to Earth on Monday, leaving the ancient space rock in its rearview mirror.
The trip home for the robotic prospector, Osiris-Rex, will take two years.
Osiris-Rex reached asteroid Bennu in 2018 and spent two years flying near and around it, before collecting rubble from the surface last fall.
The University of Arizona’s Dante Lauretta, the principal scientist, estimates the spacecraft holds between a half pound and 1 pound (200 grams and 400 grams) of mostly bite-size chunks. Either way, it easily exceeds the target of at least 2 ounces (60 grams).
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NASA spacecraft begins 2-year trip home with asteroid rubble
FILE - This illustration provided by NASA depicts the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft at the asteroid Bennu. On Monday, May 10, 2021, the robotic explorer fired its engines, headed back to Earth with samples it collected from the asteroid, nearly 200 million miles away. (Conceptual Image Lab/Goddard Space Flight Center/NASA via AP)
Added Lauretta: “We have gotten used to being at Bennu and seeing new and exciting images and data coming back to us here on Earth.
Osiris-Rex was already nearly 200 miles (300 kilometers) from the solar-orbiting Bennu when it fired its main engines Monday afternoon for a fast, clean get-away.
Colorado-based flight controllers for spacecraft builder Lockheed Martin applauded when confirmation arrived of the spacecraft s departure: “We re bringing the samples home!”
Scientists hope to uncover some of the solar system’s secrets from the samples vacuumed last October from Bennu’s dark, rough, carbon-rich surface. The asteroid is an estimated 1,600 feet (490 meters) wide and 4.5 billion years old.