{"id":174651,"date":"2023-10-24T13:26:28","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T18:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2023\/10\/nasas-osiris-rex-mission-collected-more-bennu-asteroid-samples-than-first-thought"},"modified":"2023-10-24T13:26:28","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T18:26:28","slug":"nasas-osiris-rex-mission-collected-more-bennu-asteroid-samples-than-first-thought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2023\/10\/nasas-osiris-rex-mission-collected-more-bennu-asteroid-samples-than-first-thought","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s OSIRIS-REx mission collected more Bennu asteroid samples than first thought"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"aligncenter blog-photo\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog.images\/nasas-osiris-rex-mission-collected-more-bennu-asteroid-samples-than-first-thought2.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>NASA has revealed that it has already <a data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.nasa.gov\/osiris-rex\/2023\/10\/20\/nasas-osiris-rex-achieves-sample-mass-milestone\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk: processed 70.3 grams;cpos:1;pos:1;elm: context_link;itc:0\" class=\"\">processed 70.3 grams<\/a> of rocks and dust collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission from asteroid Bennu. That means the mission has way exceeded its goal of bringing 60 grams of asteroid samples back to Earth \u2014 especially since NASA scientists have yet to open the primary sample container that <a data-i13n=\"cpos:2;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/nasas-osiris-rex-successfully-delivers-asteroid-samples-back-to-earth-091107901.html\" data-ylk=\"slk: made its way back to our planet;cpos:2;pos:1;elm: context_link;itc:0\" class=\"\">made its way back to our planet<\/a> in September. Apparently, they\u2019re <a data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/nasa-struggling-open-asteroid-sample-container-1850951047\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk: struggling;cpos:3;pos:1;elm: context_link;itc:0\" class=\"\">struggling<\/a> to open the mission\u2019s Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) and could not remove two of its 35 fasteners using the tools currently available to them.<\/p>\n<p>The scientists are processing the samples inside a specialized glovebox (pictured above) with a flow of nitrogen in order to keep them from being exposed to our atmosphere and any contaminants. They can\u2019t just use any implement to break the container\u2019s fasteners open either: The tool must fit inside the glovebox, and it also must not compromise the samples\u2019 integrity. NASA has sealed the primary container sample for now, while it\u2019s developing the procedure to be able to open it over the next few weeks.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re wondering where the 70.3 grams of rocks and dust came from, well, NASA collected part of it from the external sample receptacle but outside TAGSAM itself. It also includes a small portion of the samples <em>inside<\/em> TAGSAM, taken by holding down its mylar flap and reaching inside with tweezers or a scoop. NASA\u2019s initial analysis of the material <a data-i13n=\"cpos:4;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/nasas-bennu-asteroid-sample-contains-carbon-water\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk: published;cpos:4;pos:1;elm: context_link;itc:0\" class=\"\">published<\/a> earlier this month said it showed evidence of high carbon content and water, and further studies could help us understand how life on Earth began. The agency plans to continue analyzing and \u201ccharacterizing\u201d the rocks and dust it has already taken from the sample container, so we may hear more details about the samples even while TAGSAM remains sealed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA has revealed that it has already processed 70.3 grams of rocks and dust collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission from asteroid Bennu. That means the mission has way exceeded its goal of bringing 60 grams of asteroid samples back to Earth \u2014 especially since NASA scientists have yet to open the primary sample container that [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":396,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1635,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-174651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-materials","category-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174651\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}