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In this image taken from a video released by NASA, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft touches the asteroid surface of Pennu on Tuesday, October 20, 2020. (Via NASA AP)
Cape Canaveral, fl. – A NASA spacecraft has been filled with so much asteroid debris since it was captured this week that it is open and precious particles are drifting out into space, scientists said Friday.
Scientists announced the news three days after the Osiris-Rex spacecraft briefly launched NASA’s asteroid Pennu, the first such mission.
Dante Loretta of the University of Arizona on Tuesday collected more material than expected to return to Earth 200 million miles away – hundreds of grams.
The sample container at the end of the robot arm penetrated very deep into the asteroid, with such force, however, that the rocks were absorbed and deepened around the edge of the lid.
Scientists estimate that the sample was pressed up to 19 inches into hard, crumbling, black terrain.
“We are the victim of our own success here,” Loretta told an urgently organized press conference.
Loretta said air traffic controllers can do nothing to clear obstacles and prevent more bits of pennies from escaping, except that the samples will soon get in their return capsule.
So, early Tuesday, the flight crew was scrambling to place the sample container in the capsule – much sooner than originally planned – a long journey home.
“Time is of the essence,” said Thomas Surbuchen, head of NASA’s scientific missions.
This is NASA’s first asteroid model-return mission. Pennu was chosen because its carbon-rich material is believed to hold the protected building blocks of our solar system. Obtaining fragments from this cosmic time capsule will help scientists better understand how the planets formed billions of years ago and how life formed on Earth.
Scientists were stunned – and then stunned – by the successful touchdown on the penniless two days ago from Osiris-Rex on Thursday.
An asteroid particle is seen orbiting the spacecraft as it retreats from the pen. According to Loretta, the situation appeared to be stable, once the robot arm was locked. But could not know exactly how much was already lost.
The requirement for work over 800 million million is to bring back at least 2 ounces (60 grams).
Regardless of what is on board, Osiris-Rex will exit near the asteroid in March – an early departure that will give Earth and Penn relative locations. Seven years after the spacecraft departed from Cape Canaveral, the models will not return until 2023.
Osiris-Rex will keep moving away from the pen and will not circle it again as it waits for the scheduled departure.
Because of the sudden turn of events, scientists do not know how long the sample capsule will hold until it returns to Earth. They initially planned to rotate the spacecraft to measure the contents, but that maneuver was canceled because it could dump even more debris.
“I think we’ll have to wait until we get home to find out how much we have,” Loretta told reporters. “As you can imagine, it’s hard. செய்தி But the good news is, we see a lot of things.”
Meanwhile, Japan is taking its second batch of samples from another asteroid, in December.
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