NASA has released the total mass of the Bennu asteroid sample that was delivered to Earth last fall. Thus, the weight of the «prey» is 121.6 g.
At first glance, it may seem that the sample is quite small. Especially if we take into account the fact that NASA and its partners have made enormous efforts to obtain it. The space agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center worked with the University of Arizona and Lockheed Martin to build the $800 million OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. It was launched in September 2016 on an Atlas V rocket, which cost an additional $183.5 million. And because it traveled to the inner solar system and back, NASA spent an additional $200 million on mission operations. So, NASA invested $1.2 and spent almost a decade to get a piece of asteroid dust that could fit in a can.
But good things come in small packages. And while this sample is small, it is 20 times the amount of asteroid material previously brought back to Earth by two Japanese sample return missions. These small fragments are important because scientists will study the materials in this asteroid dust, hoping to find information about the origin of life and the conditions that existed at the dawn of our solar system.
In addition, the sample obtained is twice the minimum requirement for the mission – 60 g. Thus, OSIRIS-REx can now be finally called an unquestionably successful mission.
In the coming weeks, some of Bennu’s materials will be packaged and distributed for study by researchers. As part of the OSIRIS-REx mission, a cohort of more than 200 scientists from around the world will study the properties of regolith, including researchers from many US institutions, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
NASA intends to retain about 70% of the material for future research.
Source: arstechnica