NASA's Curious Universe
Special Delivery from Outer Space
Dec 5, 2023
On this episode, ride along with mission leaders as they prepare for the return of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft carrying 4.5-billion-year-old bits of rock and dust from asteroid Bennu. Learn about the critical operations and tense moments leading up to the successful sample collection. Discover the process of collecting environmental samples and the precautions taken to protect them. Experience the excitement as a helicopter delivers the capsule to scientists, marking the culmination of a 19-year project. Finally, explore the transportation and analysis of the precious asteroid sample at NASA's Johnson Space Center.
38:10
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Quick takeaways
- The samples collected from asteroid Bennu could rewrite scientists’ understanding of our solar system and the origins of life on Earth.
- The success of the OSIRIS-REx sample return mission paves the way for future missions to bring back samples from other celestial bodies, providing a better understanding of our place in the universe.
Deep dives
The Return of the Sample Capsule
After a journey of nearly four billion miles, NASA's Osiris Rex spacecraft successfully released a capsule containing rock and dust samples collected from the asteroid Bennu. The samples, considered pristine as they have never been exposed to Earth's atmosphere or biosphere, hold the potential to shed light on the formation of our solar system and the origins of life on Earth.
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