The NASA space probe that landed with great difficulty on the asteroid Bennu on Wednesday after two years and picked up debris there, appears to be losing small particles of that material. The American space agency has announced this at an additional press conference.
The asteroid is located 333 million kilometers from Earth. Space probe Osiris-Rex collected about 400 grams of material, more than NASA expected. But the grapple arm has landed on the asteroid with so much force that rocks have become trapped around the lid of the container that holds the debris. As a result, small particles now leak out into space.
“We think we are losing material. More than I would like,” said mission chief scientist Dante Lauretta. About 5 to 10 grams of grit would have leaked out by now. “The good news is we have a lot of material.”
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