NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission: Sample Container Released from Recovery Capsule in 2023

2023-09-26 08:00:31
On September 25, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the sample container removed from the recovery capsule that returned to Earth from the asteroid exploration mission “OSIRIS-REx” will be released in 2023 (Japan time). It was announced that it arrived in Houston, Texas, USA, where NASA’s Johnson Space Center is located, on September 26th.[September 26, 2023, 14:00]The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, also known as the “American version of Hayabusa,” was launched in September 2016 and arrived at the asteroid “101955 Bennu” in December 2018. After repeated observations from orbit, samples were collected from the surface in October 2020, and since departing Bennu in May 2021, it has continued to fly toward Earth. The recovery capsule containing Bennu’s samples will be separated from the spacecraft at 19:42 on September 24, 2023 Japan time, and re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere approximately 4 hours later. The aircraft successfully landed at the Utah Test and Training Range in Utah, USA, at 23:52 Japan time on the same day.[▲ Recovery capsule of the asteroid exploration mission “OSIRIS-REx” landed at the Utah Test and Training Range in Utah, USA (Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber)]Related:[Updated]NASA asteroid exploration capsule has landed! OSIRIS-REx Earth Return Bulletin (September 24, 2023) According to NASA, it was expected that it would take 40 hours for the recovery team to find the capsule. The landing site was captured from above and actually arrived within 20 minutes. After Lockheed Martin engineers wearing gas masks and heat-resistant gloves checked the capsule’s condition, they placed lids on the vents and other vents installed to adjust the air pressure inside the capsule to prevent contamination of the samples by the earth’s environment. was done.[▲ The OSIRIS-REx recovery capsule is suspended from a helicopter for transport to a clean room (Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber)]Once the surrounding area has been confirmed to be safe, the capsule is wrapped in a tarpaulin sheet and then hoisted to a helicopter. Arrived at Utah Test and Training Range at 1:37 on September 25, 2023 Japan time. The capsule was taken to a temporarily set up clean room, where the capsule was unpacked and nitrogen gas was poured into the sample container (which houses the tip of the OSIRIS-REx robot arm that caught the Bennu sample). I did. Meanwhile, scientists from NASA and the University of Arizona remain at the landing site after the capsule is delivered, collecting soil and air samples that may have contaminated the samples.[▲ A curation team unpacking the recovery capsule in a clean room set up at the Utah Test and Training Range (Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber)]On September 25th, local time, the shipping container containing the sample container was released. It was airlifted by a C-17 transport aircraft and landed at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas at 1:40 a.m. Japan time on September 26, 2023, before being transported to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Johnson Space Center has a clean room dedicated to the OSIRIS-REx mission. The container containing Bennu’s samples will be disassembled in a glove box in a clean room, where curation will take place, including initial description, storage, and distribution of the samples to researchers around the world. Seventy percent of the samples will be preserved for future researchers.[▲AshippingcontainerbeingairliftedbyaC-17transportaircraft.ContainsthecontainercontainingsamplesfromBennuthedisassembledrecoverycapsuleandenvironmentalsamplescollectedatthecapsule’slandingsite(Credit:NASA/MollyWasser)Wehaveanexchangeagreementinwhichwewillprovideeachotherwithaportionofthesamplesfromtheasteroid162173RyugucollectedandrecoveredbytheHayabusa2missionandaportionofthesamplesfromBennu.FundswillalsobedistributedtoJapaneseresearchteams.InadditiontheOSIRIS-RExmissionhastransitionedtoanextendedmission”OSIRIS-APEX”toexploretheorbitoftheasteroid”99942Apophis”andthespacecraftitselfwillreturntotheatmosphere.Theaircrafthaslefttheincomingcourseandcontinuesitsflight.ItisscheduledtoarriveatApophisin2029.[▲InsidethecleanroomfortheOSIRIS-RExmissionatJohnsonSpaceCenter.PhotographedonJune222023beforethecapsulereturned(Credit:NASA/JamesBlair)]SourceImage Credit: NASA, Keegan Barber, Molly Wasser, James BlairNASA – OSIRIS-REx Mission (NASA Blogs) Text/sorae Editorial Department
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