NASA's OSIRIS-REx capsule, after a 200 million-mile asteroid journey, surprises with a mysterious black material under its lid. This fine substance, distinct from the asteroid's rocks and dust, prompted a work pause. A 'quick-look analysis' is underway, with Dr. Brad Tucker suggesting it's likely asteroid material.
Lindsay Keller, OSIRIS-REx contact pad analysis lead, speaks in the Scanning Electron Microprobe Laboratory during a media day hosted by NASA to preview the OSIRIS-REx Sample Lab at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on July 24, 2023.
Black Dust and Debris Found in Asteroid Bennu Sample
In September 2016, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, reaching Bennu in December 2018. After mapping the asteroid for nearly two years, it collected a sample on October 20, 2020, before embarking on a 3.86 billion-mile round trip.
The craft, carrying the precious sample, landed on remote military land in Utah. Within two hours, a helicopter lifted the capsule into a temporary clean room at the Defense Department's Utah Test and Training Range.
Subsequently, it was transported to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where experts, clad in protective gear, opened the initial capsule lid on Tuesday, revealing the black dust and debris.
This operation took place in a specially designed laboratory for the OSIRIS-REx mission, and the aluminum lid was removed inside a glovebox for safe handling. The dark and fine asteroid dirt likely originated during the original touch-and-go maneuver to capture the samples, causing the lid not to close properly due to the excess material.
A stone jammed in the mechanism had caused asteroid material to leak from OSIRIS-REx shortly after the sample grab in October 2020, although it was eventually resolved. Professor Trevor Ireland, a geochemist at the University of Queensland, concurred that the black dust likely resulted from the sample collection, given the microgravity environment allowing dust to scatter.
NASA had only opened the top lid of the capsule since the sample's return to Earth on Sunday, with the actual rocky sample from Bennu stored in a separate smaller component that has yet to be opened.
This precious cargo weighs approximately 8.8 ounces (250 grams), roughly half the size of an average cereal box, but it holds valuable insights into asteroid composition and potential Earth-threatening asteroids, like the one that could impact in 2182. This collection of pebbles and dust from Bennu represents the most significant haul from beyond the moon.
The diverse team of scientists and engineers at Johnson Space Center will continue to collaborate in identifying the mysterious black dust and unveil the sample during the live broadcast on October 11.
Asteroid Sample Landing on Earth
After years of NASA's OSIRIS-REx team's hard work, a capsule containing rocks and dust from asteroid Bennu successfully returned to Earth, landing precisely as planned in Utah. Following a swift helicopter transport to a temporary clean room, the sample is now safeguarded within a continuous nitrogen purge to maintain its purity for scientific analysis.
These samples will aid global scientists in understanding planet formation, the origin of organic materials and water crucial for life on Earth, and potential asteroid threats.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson praised the mission's success, emphasizing its importance in deepening our knowledge of the solar system's origins and potential asteroid hazards. He also highlighted the upcoming missions, including Psyche, DART, and Lucy, as examples of NASA's ability to inspire and achieve great feats.
The Bennu sample, weighing around 8.8 ounces (250 grams), will be transported in its sealed canister to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for disassembly, weighing, inventory, and distribution to scientists worldwide.
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