This photo provided by NASA on January 22, 2024 shows a view of eight sample trays containing the final material from the asteroid Bennu. NASA reported Thursday (Feb. 15) that the Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected 121.6 grams (4.3 ounces) of dust and pebbles from the asteroid Bennu. That’s about a cup – the largest cosmic harvest ever beyond the Moon. Credit: Erika Blumenfeld and Joseph Aebersold/NASA via AP
NASA finally counted all the asteroid samples returned by a spacecraft last fall, and that’s double the rubble return goal.
Officials reported Thursday that the Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected 121.6 grams (4.29 ounces) of dust and rocks from the asteroid Bennu. That’s just over half a cup and the largest cosmic harvest ever made beyond the Moon.
It took NASA longer than expected to open the sample container due to stuck fasteners.
The carbon-rich black samples, the first ever collected from an asteroid by NASA, are stored in a special conservation laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Osiris-Rex returned the samples last September, three years after collecting them from the asteroid. The transport for the billion-dollar mission would have been larger, but rocks blocked the container lid after the seizure and some samples floated away.
The spacecraft is now on its way to another space rock, but that will only involve a non-stop flyby for samples.
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