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Return of “buckets” from space. Airplanes caught invaluable information for the United States
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NASA has been planning a closer examination of Bennu, a small asteroid, for a long time (slightly over 500 meters), which researchers believe has survived almost intact since the formation of the solar system.
In September 2016, the American space agency sent the Origins probe, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) to the asteroid. The ship arrived in Bennu in early December 2018, and after a few days discovered the presence of hydroxyl groups in the asteroid’s minerals, meaning that the larger object that Bennu was once part of had water. On the last day of 2018, OSIRIS-REx entered orbit around the asteroid, becoming the first ever artificial satellite of such a small space object.
The probe took a sample from the surface of Bennu, but there is a hassle
Last week, the OSIRIS-REx probe lowered its orbit and in just 6 seconds of contact, she took a rock sample from the asteroid’s surface. This undoubtedly key part of the mission was successful, but now NASA has a big problem. The agency informedthat the probe’s boom has inadequately secured the sample, causing the Bennu stones to escape into space.
The material moving away from the boom was captured in the photos sent by the probe. NASA researchers combined three selected frames into a short video showing the movement of pebbles.
