A NASA space capsule, which holds the largest soil sample ever collected from an asteroid’s surface, has successfully landed in the Utah desert after a seven-year mission.
The capsule, released from the robotic spacecraft OSIRIS-REx after passing within 108,000 kilometers (67,000 miles) of Earth, touched down in a designated area west of Salt Lake City on the Utah Test and Training Range.
The samples, which scientists estimate to be at least a cup of rubble from the carbon-rich asteroid Bennu, will be transported to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for further analysis.
The capsule’s contents will only be confirmed once it is opened.
“Congratulations to the OSIRIS-REx team on a picture-perfect mission – the first American asteroid sample return in history – which will deepen our understanding of the origin of our solar system and its formation. Not to mention, Bennu is a potentially hazardous asteroid, and what we learn from the sample will help us better understand the types of asteroids that could come our way,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
“With OSIRIS-REx, Psyche launch in a couple of weeks, DART’s one-year anniversary, and Lucy’s first asteroid approach in November, Asteroid Autumn is in full swing. These missions prove once again that NASA does big things. Things that inspire us and unite us. Things that show nothing is beyond our reach when we work together.”
This mission is significant as it collected a much larger sample compared to Japan’s previous missions to asteroids, which gathered only a teaspoon of material.
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OSIRIS-REx’s sample could provide valuable insights into the origins and development of rocky planets like Earth, as well as the potential presence of organic molecules necessary for life’s emergence.
The spacecraft collected the specimen from Bennu three years ago and departed from the asteroid in May 2021. It re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds before deploying parachutes for a gentle landing in the Utah desert.
Scientists and technicians are on standby to retrieve the capsule and ensure that the asteroid material remains uncontaminated by terrestrial elements.
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