A lot of carbon and water: NASA studied the asteroid Bennu

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He added that such missions seek to improve understanding of asteroids that could threaten Earth.

Photo: NASA

“They will also give us an opportunity to look into what lies beyond it. The sample was delivered to Earth, but there is still a lot of scientific research ahead, which we have not come across“, Nelson said.

The OSIRIS-REx mission was launched in September 2016. The spacecraft arrived at asteroid Bennu in December 2018.

Astronomers have been studying its surface from orbit with the probe for 22 months, looking for the right spot to land and take a sample.

In October 2020, they began collecting material and found that the surface of the asteroid is surprisingly porous, so the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was able to dive deep into it. Already in May 2021, the probe went to Earth with asteroid samples.

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On September 24, 2023, the return capsule landed in the northern Utah desert. However, scientists still do not know the exact weight of material brought home by OSIRIS-REx. According to preliminary calculations, it is somewhere around 250 grams, while according to the mission requirements, it should be about 60 grams.

Scientists around the world will now carefully study the composition of asteroid Bennu, in particular – the identity of carbon compounds.

Many researchers believe that asteroids that were enriched with carbon (such as Bennu) long ago “seeded” our planet with building blocks during the collision.

“When we peer into the ancient secrets stored in the dust and rocks of asteroid Bennu, we open a time capsule that offers us a deep understanding of the origins of our solar system“said OSIRIS-REx Principal Investigator Dante Lauretta at USAID.

He added that the bounty of carbon-rich materials and abundance of water-bearing clay minerals is only the tip of the cosmic iceberg.

“These discoveries, made possible by years of dedicated collaboration and cutting-edge science, lead us on a journey to understand not only our celestial neighborhood, but also the potential for life to begin. With each revelation from Bennu, we get closer to solving the mystery. of our space heritage“, Dante Lauretta concluded.

By the way, the mission of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is not over. Its probe continues to fly to another asteroid called Apophis for research.

Read also: An asteroid exploded over the English Channel and entered the Earth’s atmosphere. VIDEO