NASA PROBE TOUCHES DOWN ON ASTEROID
After a four-year journey, NASA’s robotic spacecraft Osiris-Rex briefly touched down on asteroid Bennu’s boulder-strewn surface on Tuesday to collect rock and dust samples dating back to the birth of our solar system. The so-called “Touch-And-Go” or TAG manoeuvre was managed by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado, where at 6:12pm an announcer said: “Touchdown declared. Sampling is in progress.” The historic mission was 12 years in the making.
A Nasa spacecraft successfully touched down on the rugged surface of asteroid Bennu on Tuesday, collecting a sample of rocks dating back to the birth of our solar system to bring back to Earth, the US space agency said.
The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft unfurled its robotic arm, briefly touched the asteroid to collect dust and pebbles from the surface for delivery to Earth in 2023.
Asteroid Bennu is currently more than 321 million kilometres away from the Earth.
It offers scientists a window into the early solar system as it was first taking shape billions of years ago and flinging ingredients that could have helped seed life on Earth, Nasa said.
If Tuesday’s sample collection event, known as “TouchAnd-Go” (TAG), provided enough of a sample, mission teams will command the spacecraft to begin stowing the precious primordial cargo to begin its journey back to Earth in
March 2021.
Otherwise, they will prepare for another attempt in January, according to Nasa.
“This amazing first for Nasa demonstrates how an incredible team from across the country came together and persevered through incredible challenges to expand the boundaries of knowledge,” said Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine.
“Our industry, academic, and international partners have made it possible to hold a piece of the most ancient solar system in our hands,” Bridenstine said in a statement.