NASA: Opens a capsule containing a historic sample of the asteroid Bennu

The process of safely collecting the precious sample from the asteroid Bennu from the capsule that arrived on Earth last Sunday is in full swing.

The capsule was flown to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where its lid was opened inside a special area to ensure there was no contamination. As the US space agency reported, it was found inside “Black dust and debris”, Without opening the primary container yet.

Capsule It produced about 250 grams of virgin material From the asteroid Bennu, The largest collection of cosmic material outside the moon. The science team removed the lid of the container, revealing dark dust and sand-sized particles inside, which likely came from the asteroid as well. This bodes very well for the yet-to-be-opened Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM).

TAGSAM is the tool used to collect material from Bennu’s surface and requires a very complex disassembly process.

“These operations take place in a new laboratory designed specifically for the OSIRIS-REx mission. The aluminum cover has been removed in a space designed to allow working with a large piece of materialShanika Vereen of NASA’s Johnson Space Center wrote.

The TAGSAM will then be separated from the rest of the container and moved to its own area to be opened. Nitrogen will be continuously pumped through the container because it is an inert gas that does not react and is therefore used to prevent the entry of oxygen and moisture.

In fact, the big reveal will be live. NASA will broadcast a special broadcast On October 11th Which will show the complete TAGSAM disassembly and sample detection process.