A spacecraft that embarked on a groundbreaking mission to uncover the origins of life on Earth is finally heading back home after successfully collecting samples from an asteroid.
The Lockheed Martin-built space probe, named “OSIRIS-REx,” completed a brief touchdown on an asteroid known as Bennu in October 2020, fulfilling its primary objective of obtaining a soil sample for further analysis.
Dante Lauretta, the Principal Investigator of OSIRIS-REx from the University of Arizona, described Bennu as a time capsule that has preserved its ancient minerals and chemicals for over 4.5 billion years. Remarkably, these substances predate the formation of Earth as a planet, making the asteroid a potential goldmine of information about the solar system’s history and the emergence of life.
The nearly three-year-long journey of OSIRIS-REx is approaching its climactic conclusion. The spacecraft is set to parachute down to the Utah desert this September, where a highly anticipated sample recovery operation will take place. At the Lockheed Martin campus in Littleton, a full dress rehearsal was conducted to ensure flawless execution.
Dante Lauretta stressed the importance of meticulous preparation, emphasizing the team’s commitment to never embark on a critical operation unprepared.
Upon its return, the sample recovery team will establish a makeshift clean room at the landing site in the desert. Extreme caution must be exercised during the sample preparation process to avoid any contamination. The recovered sample will be transported to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where it will undergo comprehensive analysis.
“When we proposed this mission to NASA, we promised unprecedented knowledge about the origins of life on Earth,” said Lauretta. “I intend to do my best to deliver on that promise.”
The anticipated arrival of OSIRIS-REx in Utah on September 24 will mark a significant milestone in the ongoing quest to unravel the secrets of our universe. Bennu, the asteroid from which the sample was collected, makes close approaches to Earth approximately every six years.
While the chances are small, there remains a remote possibility of a future impact between the years 2175 and 2199.
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