Scientists believe the asteroid Bennu is rich in carbon and contains mineral-rich water molecules.
Nasa’s OSIRIS-REx probe is set to release a capsule containing a sample from asteroid Bennu four hours before its scheduled landing.
The OSIRIS-REx probe’s final, fiery descent through Earth’s atmosphere will be perilous, but the US space agency is hoping for a soft landing, around 9am local time, in a military test range in northwestern Utah. “This sample return is really historic,” Nasa scientist Amy Simon told AFP. “This is going to be the biggest sample we’ve brought back since the Apollo moon rocks” were returned to Earth.OSIRIS-REx is set to release the capsule – from an altitude of more than 108,000km – some four hours before it lands.
If it appears that the target zone might be missed, Nasa controllers could decide at the last moment not to release the capsule. On Monday, assuming all goes well, the sample will be flown by plane to Nasa’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. There, the box will be opened in another “clean room” – the beginning of a days-long process.Most of the sample will be conserved for study by future generations. Roughly one-fourth of it will be immediately used in experiments, and a small amount will be sent to Japan and Canada, partners in the mission.
Scientists believe Bennu, which is 499m in diameter, is rich in carbon – a building block of life on Earth – and contains water molecules locked in minerals.
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