2023-09-02 15:10:01
The mission Osiris-REx was launched by NASA in 2016 with the ambition to meet the asteroid Bennu, to land there to collect soil samples and then bring them back to Earth.
The collection operation went as planned in 2020 and the probe began its return to Earth. Its landing is scheduled for September 24 in the Utah desert, following entering the Earth’s atmosphere at 27,650 mph (44,500 km/h) slowed down by a heat shield and then by a parachute.
Preparations for the return of the probe
NASA is employing the final weeks before the return of Osiris-REx to practice capsule recovery using a copy of the craft that is used to train crews for capsule reception and spacecraft recovery. sample on a specific drop zone.
At the end of this 7-year mission, the American space agency hopes to recover approximately 250 grammes of the soil of the 4.5 billion year old asteroid Bennu in order to learn more regarding the formation of planets but also regarding the organic components that may have contributed to generating life on Earth.
Once the probe is on land, the sample will be carefully retrieved and taken to a clean room to avoid any terrestrial contamination. The container will then be disassembled and sent to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where it will be studied and sent to various research laboratories for analysis.
Better understand the evolution of the Universe and the emergence of life
This is a new type of sample which can thus be analyzed and will complete knowledge, following the return of the Japanese probe Hayabusa-2 in 2020 which had already taken and brought back a sample from the asteroid Ryugu.
Its analysis notably confirmed the presence of organic components and amino acids, some of which are used as building blocks for living RNA. The sample brought back by Osiris-REx will make it possible to compare these results and to support the data.
The arrival of the Osiris-REx probe can be followed on September 24 from 4 p.m. (French time) in live streaming from the NASA websitein the NASA app and on NASA TV.
1693695859
#OsirisREx #probe #return #Earth #precious #samples
