Nearly two years ago, NASA made history when the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly made To take a sample of the regolith from the surface of the asteroid. Until the mission returns to Earth , NASA has shared new information about the orb. in Posted this week (via ), the agency revealed that OSIRIS-REx would have sunk in Bennu had the spacecraft not immediately launched its thrusters after hitting the asteroid’s surface.
“It turns out that the molecules that make up the exterior of Bennu are so loosely bound and so loosely bound together that if someone walks on Bennu, they won’t feel much resistance, like going into a lead hole in the plastic that are common play areas for kids,” NASA said.
This is not what scientists expected to find in Bennu. When observing the asteroid from Earth, it was expected that its surface was covered with a soft material resembling a sandy beach. Bennu’s reaction to the landing of Osiris Rex also aroused the interest of scientists. After a brief interaction with the asteroid, the spacecraft left a crater 26 feet (8 meters) wide. In lab tests, the capture procedure “barely resulted in an incision”.
After analyzing data from the spacecraft, they discovered that it encountered the same resistance that anyone on Earth would feel when pressing the plunger of a French coffee pot. “By the time we launched our thrusts to leave the surface, we were still sinking into the asteroid,” said Ron Blose, a scientist on the OSIRIS-REx team.
According to NASA, its findings on Bennu could help scientists better explain distant observations of other asteroids. In turn, this agency could help design future asteroid missions. “I think we’re just beginning to understand what these bodies are, because they behave in a very counter-intuitive way,” said OSIRIS Rex team member Patrick Michel.
All products recommended by Engadget are handpicked by our editorial team, independently of the parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
“Infuriatingly humble internet buffs. Proud hooligans. Web lover. businessman. Award-Winning Music Lawyer.”