What will happen to OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample?

WORLD  26 September 2023 - 04:04

A NASA spacecraft, carrying the largest asteroid sample ever collected, touched down at Utah's Test and Training Range on September 24. 

As scientists say this sample will help them learn more about the origins of the solar system, Al Jazeera has looked into what the future holds for the asteroid material.

This capsule, released from the robotic OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which was launched seven years ago and collected the sample in October 2020, is of great interest to scientists. They believe that this sample will provide valuable insights into the origins of our solar system.

The cleaned and filtered materials, including the unopened sample canister, will be transported to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on September 25. Initially, scientists will analyze the fine-grained material from the top of the canister to gain an initial understanding, and the results will be shared from the space center on October 11.

Pierre Haenecour, associated with the University of Arizona and part of the OSIRIS-REx team specializing in organics and pre-solar material, emphasized that this sample offers an untouched and pristine glimpse into the fundamental building blocks of our solar system.

Over the next two years, scientists will meticulously study and catalog the sample in a dedicated clean room at the Johnson Space Center. Approximately six months from now, the sample catalog will be made available to scientists, with about a quarter of it being distributed among the 233 members of the OSIRIS-REx team, representing 38 institutions worldwide. Some portions of the sample will also be shared with partner space agencies in Canada and Japan.

Remarkably, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which delivered the sample, did not return to Earth's surface. Instead, it separated and released the gumdrop-shaped Sample Return Capsule into Earth's atmosphere. Currently, it's en route to its next mission, which involves studying another near-Earth asteroid named Apophis. Now known as OSIRIS-APEX (OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer), the spacecraft will closely examine Apophis when it approaches Earth in 2029. Scientists hope to capture detailed images of the asteroid and use gas thrusters to attempt to dislodge and study the dust and rocks on and around its surface.

Caliber.Az