2023-09-24 10:41:12
Pictured here is the asteroid Bennu, composed of 12 PolyCam images collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on December 2, 2018, from a range of 15 miles. (Archyde.com file photo) A seven-year voyage by a NASA space capsule will reach its final climax on the 24th, as it will land in the desert of Utah, USA, and bring the largest asteroid sample in history back to Earth. Agence France-Presse reports that scientists have high hopes for this sample, saying it will help us understand more about the formation of the solar system and how the Earth became habitable. The capsule released by the spacecraft “Osiris-Rex” will face scorching temperatures during its final descent through the Earth’s atmosphere. It will be very dangerous, but NASA hopes it will It was able to make a soft landing at the military test site in northwest Utah at around 9 a.m. local time (15:00 GMT). Osiris was launched in 2016. Four years later, it collected about 250 grams of dust samples from the rocky surface of the asteroid Bennu. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that even such a small sample size should “help us better understand the types of asteroids that threaten the Earth” and shed light on “the earliest history of the solar system.” NASA scientist Amy Simon told AFP: “The sample brought back this time is of historical significance because it is the largest sample we have brought back to Earth since the moon rocks were obtained by the Apollo mission.” But. She also acknowledged that returning the capsule to Earth would require “dangerous operations.” Osiris plans to release the capsule from an altitude of more than 108,000 kilometers four hours before landing. The hot phase of the journey through the atmosphere will only occur in the final 13 minutes, when the capsule will hurtle downward at a speed of more than 27,000 miles (about 43,452 kilometers) per hour, and the temperature will reach as high as 2,760 degrees Celsius. Military sensors will monitor its rapid descent, and then it will open two parachutes to slow down. If there is a problem with the parachutes, a “hard landing” will occur. If it is discovered that it may miss the target landing zone, NASA controllers may decide at the last minute not to release the capsule. The space probe will retain the sample and orbit the sun again, and scientists will have to wait until 2025 to try to land the sample again. If the plan succeeds, Osiris will head to another asteroid. Space NASA Utah Previous article Anti-affirmative action scholarships become the next target “racial injustice”
1695555357
#U.S #space #capsule #land #desert #largest #asteroid #sample #history #expected #arrive #Earth #24th #U.S #Comprehensive #U.S