NASA’s Asteroid Sample Floats Into Utah—And Scientists Are Thrilled

Scientists are hoping to unlock some of the biggest mysteries of the universe after a capsule containing pristine samples of an asteroid parachuted into the Utah desert.

On Sunday NASA spacecraft OSIRIS-REx successfully dropped-off a capsule containing about 8.8 ounces (250 grams) of rock samples collected from asteroid Bennu in late 2021. Landing at 10:52 a.m. ET, the seven year mission was NASA’s first asteroid sample-return attempt.

With the sample retrieved from the Utah desert and put in a clean room at the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground, it’s over to a team of six scientists to use sophisticated instruments to investigate these samples for clues about the origins of our solar system—and life itself.

Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for OSIRIS-REx at the University of Arizona, was among the first people to approach that sample return capsule after it landed. “Today marks an extraordinary milestone not just for the OSIRIS-REx team but for science as a whole,” he said. “We now have the unprecedented opportunity to analyze these samples and delve deeper into the secrets of our solar system.”

Not Like Meteors

Asteroids comprise rock from the very earliest solar system when planets were forming—and these samples are some of the most pristine available. “Unlike natural meteor falls that can quickly become contaminated by our atmosphere, water and biota, these rocks are unblemished,” said Nick Timms, Associate Professor at Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, one of a team of six scientists that will be analysing unspoilt samples of the oldest objects in the solar system.

“We’ll be able to tell a huge amount about what happened when the solar system was nothing more than dust and gas, and the processes that brought planets together and created the ingredients for life on Earth,” he said.

Revealing Bennu

About 1,640 feet (500 meters) in diameter, Bennu is a rubble pile asteroid entirely made up of fragments—from boulders to dust particles—that were ejected during the destruction of a much larger asteroid. From the samples, the scientists should be able to tease-out Bennu’s impact history as well as discover its chemical composition, with the first results planned for the first half of 2024.

“It is classified as a carbon-rich asteroid, believed to harbour organic compounds that date back to the early days of our solar system nearly four billion years ago,” said Dr Minjae Kim, Research Fellow, Department of Physics, University of Warwick. in an email. “Only a few asteroids including Bennu offer such insights, making it a crucial celestial body for shedding light on the origins of life on our own planet.”

The sample, though small, is the largest ever obtained from such a mission.

“The material can be analysed for decades, offering continuous revelations about our cosmic origins,” said Phil Bland, Director of Curtin’s Space Science Technology Center and John Curtin Distinguished Professor. “Just as we are still learning things from the samples the Apollo astronauts brought back, more than 50 years ago, so too we will be able to uncover the secrets of Bennu for decades to come.”

The six Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972 brought back 842 lbs (382 kilograms) of rocks, core samples, pebbles, sand and dust from the lunar surface, according to NASA.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes