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Credit & Copyright: NASA/Keegan
Barber
Explanation:
Back
from asteroid 101955 Bennu,
a 110-pound, 31-inch wide sample return capsule
rests in a
desert
on planet Earth
in this photo, taken at the
Department of Defense Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City
last
Sunday, September 24.
Dropped off by the OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft, the capsule looks
charred from the extreme temperatures experienced during its
blistering descent through Earth's dense atmosphere.
OSIRIS-Rex began its home-ward journey from Bennu in May of 2021.
Delivered to NASAÁs Johnson Space Center in Houston on September 25,
the capsule's canister is expected to contain an uncontaminated
sample of about a half pound (250 grams) of
Bennu's loosely packed regolith.
Working in a new laboratory designed for the OSIRIS-REx mission,
scientists and engineers will complete the
canister
disassembly process,
and plan to unveil the sample of
the
near-Earth asteroid
in a broadcast event on October 11.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: asteroid
Publications with words: asteroid
See also: