NASA Struggles to Unlock Priceless Asteroid Sample
TL;DR
NASA is facing difficulty in opening the container holding the dirt sample collected from asteroid Bennu due to the sealed Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM). The container needs to be opened in a special glovebox to minimize Earth contamination, but two fasteners cannot be removed with the current tools. Despite this setback, the team has managed to collect 70.3 grams of asteroid material from the travel canister and around the outside of the TAGSAM. The sample will be opened using new approaches while maintaining its integrity and cleanliness.
Topics:top-newsspace-science#asteroid-bennu#contamination#nasa#sample-extraction#space-science#tagsam
- Oh No! NASA Can't Seem to Get The Lid Off Its Priceless Asteroid Sample ScienceAlert
- NASA Is Having Trouble Opening the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Container ExtremeTech
- NASA's Having Trouble Getting Its Asteroid Sample Open Futurism
- The Most Expensive Material Known to Science Isn't What You Think ScienceAlert
- NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission surpasses goal for collection of asteroid samples Phys.org
Want the full story? Read the original reporting
Read on ScienceAlert