Within this space, the curation team will conduct a nitrogen flow, called a purge, to prevent any of Earth’s atmosphere from entering the sample canister and contaminating it. Keegan Barber/NASAĪ helicopter carried the sample in a cargo net and delivered it to a temporary clean room near the landing site. NASA Sample Return Capsule Science Lead Scott Sandford, NASA Astromaterials Curator Francis McCubbin and University of Arizona OSIRIS-REx Principal Investigator Dante Lauretta (left to right) collected air and dirt particles and captured images shortly after the capsule landed.

As incredible as it seemed all those years ago, it came to be.” I knew we had done it, that we had pulled it off. One of the key moments for me was seeing it. “It was like seeing an old friend that you hadn’t seen for a long time,” he said. And on Sunday, he was one of the first people to approach the capsule after it landed to welcome it home. Lauretta has been present for each step of the way, including when the capsule was assembled and installed on the spacecraft before launch. Lauretta has worked on the mission for nearly twenty years and remembers when it was part of an idea presented to NASA. “As unlikely as it is, we do want to make sure any materials that are out there in the Utah range that may interact with the sample are well documented.” “One of the key scientific objectives of OSIRIS-REx is to return a pristine sample and pristine means that no foreign materials hamper our investigation during sample analysis,” said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Keegan Barber/NASAĪ science team collected samples from the landing site, including air, dust and dirt particles. The sample return capsule experienced charring due to the extreme temperatures it encountered upon reentry, but the asteroid sample remained safely insulated inside. The team also ensured the capsule’s battery didn’t rupture and leak any toxic fumes. The initial recovery team, outfitted with protective gloves and masks, ensured that the capsule was cool enough to touch, given that it reached temperatures up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius) during reentry, Burns said. Recovery teams, which have been training for the event for months, retrieved the capsule once it was safe, said Sandra Freund, OSIRIS-REx program manager at Lockheed Martin Space, which partnered with NASA to build the spacecraft, provide flight operations and help recover the 100-pound capsule. The team confirmed that the capsule was not breached during landing. The mission now has a new name: OSIRIS-APEX, for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-APophis EXplorer.įour helicopters transported recovery and research teams to the landing site and conducted assessments to make sure the capsule wasn’t damaged in any way, said Rich Burns, OSIRIS-REx project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. OSIRIS-REx is continuing its tour of the solar system - the spacecraft has already set off to capture a detailed look at a different asteroid named Apophis. It was the impossible that became possible.” This mission proves that NASA does big things, things that inspire us, things that unite us. “It brought something extraordinary, the largest asteroid sample ever received on Earth. You did it,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. The sample landed in the Defense Department’s Utah Test and Training Range about 10 minutes after entering the atmosphere, a few minutes ahead of schedule. Parachutes deployed to slow the capsule to a gentle touchdown at 11 miles per hour (17.7 kilometers per hour). ET while traveling at a speed of about 27,650 miles per hour (44,498 kilometers per hour). The spacecraft dropped the sample capsule - containing an estimated 8.8 ounces of asteroid rocks and soil - from a distance of 63,000 miles (102,000 kilometers) above Earth’s surface early Sunday, and entered the planet’s atmosphere at 10:42 a.m.

The spacecraft collected a sample of rocks and dirt from Bennu in October 2020.

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