OSIRIS-APEX Archives

February 15, 2024February 15, 2024 by Evan Gough

OSIRIS-REx’s Final Haul: 121.6 Grams from Asteroid Bennu

These eight sample trays contain the final material from asteroid Bennu. The dust and rocks were poured into the trays from the top plate of the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) head. 51.2 grams were collected from this pour, bringing the final mass of asteroid sample to 121.6 grams. Credit: NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold

After several months of meticulous, careful work, NASA has the final total for their haul of asteroidal material from the OSIRIS-REx mission to Bennu. The highly successful mission successfully collected 121.6 grams, or almost 4.3 ounces, of rock and dust. It won’t be long before scientists get their hands on these samples and start analyzing them.

October 12, 2023October 12, 2023 by Evan Gough

OSIRIS-REx Returned Carbon and Water from Asteroid Bennu

This is the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector. Sample material from asteroid Bennu is on the middle right. There's evidence of carbon and water in the initial analysis of Bennu's regolith. Most of the sample is sealed inside the capsule. Photo: NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold

Carbon and water are so common on Earth that they’re barely worth mentioning. But not if you’re a scientist. They know that carbon and water are life-enabling chemicals and are also links to the larger cosmos.

Initial results from OSIRIS-REx’s Bennu samples show the presence of both in the asteroid’s regolith. Now, eager scientists will begin to piece together how Bennu’s carbon, water, and other molecules fit into the puzzle of the Earth, the Sun, and even the entire Solar System and beyond.

October 4, 2023October 4, 2023 by Evan Gough

Watch OSIRIS-REx Release its Sample Capsule

This is the OSIRIS-Rex sample return capsule in the Great Salt Lake Desert. It's charred and blackened from its plunge through Earth's atmosphere. Image Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

Most of the spacecraft we send out into the Solar System are never meant to return. Time, space, and entropy overtake them, or else they’re purposely sent crashing to their doom at the end of their missions. But not OSIRIS-REx. Its mission was only a success when it returned to Earth with its rare cargo.