After two intense weeks to open and examine the box which contains the samples of The Osiris-Rex mission, the teams were barely ajar the Pandora’s box. But already, the first results reward the years of effort: many carbon molecules and water!
With the impeccable landing of the capsule on September 24, the Osiris-Rex mission ended on a flawless, seven years after taking off. But for the teams waiting for the samples, it is obviously only the start of the adventure. After isolating the capsule and having placed it in a particular box, she took a plane to the Johnson space center. But once the thermal shield has been removed and the capsule, scientists were surprised to see that there were already a lot of dust and asteroid pieces, even on the edges of the collector. The first analyzes were quick.
It overflows with discoveries
During a conference with great fanfare Wednesday, October 11, the teams presented their first results, on samples collected on the edges of the collector: very large quantities of carbon molecules and water saturated with water! This is good news, because this is directly what the Osiris-Rex mission was going to seek on Bennu (which, as a reminder, is type C-carbon). The materials studied are particularly valuable because they have been navigating the Solar System since its creation 4.5 billion years ago. And perhaps even certain dusts date before the accretion and fusion of our sun. The overall objective of the mission was to bring back 60 grams of harvest! However there are many more, a quantity not yet fully determined, around 250 grams and probably a little more. In reality, it is not easy to estimate, because the collector has not yet been open. There is so much to discover and study on its edges that the teams will take the time. Each grain of matter is precious!
We will have to sort
“ These samples of the Osiris-Rex mission are the most imposing carbon-rich songs brought to earth, and they will help the scientific team determine the origins of life on our own planet for the next generations “Said Bill Nelson, NASA administrator. The scientific manager of the Dante Loretta mission for his part recalled that it would take approximately two years to examine, classify, identify each sample brought back by the mission before further examinations were carried out. Patience therefore, even if several dusts and grains of material have already been observed under an electron microscope, which made it possible to discover metallic inclusions, as well as the first chemical compositions. A 2mm long piece was also scanned with X -rays, revealing its internal composition and producing a 3D model.
Impossible to observe on site
This also makes it possible to see how the scale of the study of these samples is different from what it is possible to do with an on -board mission. The probes and vehicles that we send may sometimes be small laboratories, their capacities are limited compared to the instruments available on earth. There is a real armada of laboratories (including in France, with unique capacities) which are waiting to receive samples of Bennu. And even a few grains, some micrograms, may be enough to retrace both the pastroid past, but also that of a part of our solar system. “ This treasure of carbon -rich equipment, and hydrated clays is just the submerged part of this cosmic iceberg. These discoveries come to reward years of collaboration at the forefront of science, and they will take us on a trip to understand not only our celestial environment, but also the potential start of life on earth “.
NASA will only use part of Bennu’s samples. Around 60 to 70% will be left aside in a protected atmosphere and in airtight containers, to be opened drop by drop in the decades to come: there is in any case enough material for generations of doctoral students and researchers. study, while waiting for techniques that are not yet developed. Finally, we must not forget international collaboration: around 10 to 15% of the samples brought back will go to Japan, as part of a partnership with the Hayabusa2 mission teams. The latter had reported around 5 grams of asteroid Ryugu in December 2020, and part of it was transferred for study to the United States.
Source : NASA
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