In a first, NASA returns asteroid samples to Earth
In a first, NASA returns asteroid samples to Earth
The collected rocks and soil could help scientists unlock secrets about the solar system and how life emerged on this planet.
has nobody seen the movie Life? I don't want Calvin on my doorstep
19This is the best summary I could come up with:
A capsule containing precious samples from an asteroid landed safely on Earth on Sunday, the culmination of a roughly 4-billion-mile journey over the past seven years.
The asteroid samples were collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which flew by Earth early Sunday morning and jettisoned the capsule over a designated landing zone in the Utah desert.
After it is recovered, the capsule will be transported to a temporary clean room on the military range before being flown to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Agency officials said they hope to open the capsule on Monday or Tuesday, though it may take around a week before scientists can accurately weigh how much rocky material is inside.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft (short for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) spent nearly two years circling Bennu before using its robotic arm in what was described as a “high five” maneuver to scoop up pieces of the space rock.
Early Sunday, the spacecraft jettisoned the samples as it skirted 63,000 miles above Earth’s surface, sending the capsule screaming through the atmosphere at around 27,650 mph.
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8This is pretty freakin awesome.
7How did they get the orange bit to stay orange when everything else is blackened?
4Probably just put a little tape over it like when you're painting the wall.
8
Fools. This is just what the aliens want.
2