A NASA, through the OSIRIS-REx mission, reached a significant milestone with the delivery of rocks and dust from the asteroid Bennu to Earth on September 24, 2023. This event represents a major advance in the study of space, bringing precious material for detailed analysis.
Bennu's pristine material, collected from the asteroid's surface in 2020, promises to provide future generations of scientists a window into the period when the Sun and planets were forming, about 4.5 billion years ago years. This sample is an invaluable resource for better understanding the history of our solar system.
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NASA's revelation of the first sample collected from the potentially dangerous asteroid Bennu, a possible project thanks to the OSIRIS-REx mission, it was not only a technological feat, but it could also lead us to understand the origins of life.
The sample, revealed to the public on October 12, 2023, was found to contain abundant water and carbon, as released by the US space agency, NASA2.
This material is being carefully analyzed by a team of curators at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), in a specially constructed clean room. disassemble a container full of regolith – samples collected from the surface of Bennu, a rare carbonaceous asteroid that is the same age as the solar system.
Image: Robert Markowitz
The sample, consisting of 100 to 250 grams of rocky space debris, holds within it a silent but profound narrative of what may have been the beginning of life. Initial analyzes revealed a high concentration of carbon and water, crucial elements for the formation of life on Earth.
Bennu is considered potentially dangerous, as its trajectory and proximity to Earth in Certain passes could theoretically put it on a collision course with Earth at some point in the future. Continuous analysis of its trajectory is vital to predict and possibly mitigate any future threat it may pose.
The Smithsonian is the first museum to publicly display a sample of Bennu, along with the returned OSIRIS-REx capsule and the Atlas V 411 rocket that launched it. The exhibit is located in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals. Smithsonian researchers will also analyze another behind-the-scenes sample, looking for signs of precursors to life.
