Exciting Delivery: Bennu Asteroid Samples Set to Land in Utah
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The Countdown to Discovery
In just four days, NASA's probe, which has been journeying to the Bennu asteroid for the past seven years, will make its approach to Earth. As planned, it will release a capsule containing material gathered from Bennu's surface three years ago. The exact amount of regolith collected remains a mystery.
Historically, only Japan has successfully returned samples from space, with minimal amounts collected from the Itokawa asteroid in 2010 and Ryugu in 2020. NASA aims to set a new record with the OSIRIS-REx probe, which will drop off its asteroid samples in the Utah desert this coming Sunday. "I wonder how many times in life you can endure moments when your heart beats as if it wants to jump out of your chest," expressed Dante Lauretta, the mission's lead scientist from the University of Arizona. "I feel like I’m approaching my limit," he added.
Understanding Bennu
Discovered in 1999, Bennu is an asteroid approximately 500 meters in diameter, likely formed from a collision between larger bodies. While it may appear as a solid rock in images, the OSIRIS-REx mission has revealed that Bennu consists of loose rock fragments, or regolith, which may represent materials from the early Solar System. Bennu completes an orbit around the Sun every 14 months and rotates on its axis every four hours. Notably, it poses a potential risk of colliding with Earth on September 24, 2182, although the probability of such an event is significantly low. The OSIRIS-REx mission aims to gather crucial data to formulate a strategy to alter Bennu’s trajectory if necessary.
A Journey Filled with Tension
Launched in 2016, the billion-dollar OSIRIS-REx mission involved a two-year journey to reach Bennu, followed by another two years spent orbiting the asteroid to identify the optimal landing site. The probe successfully collected samples in October 2020, but not without some heart-stopping challenges. During its descent, the probe's 3-meter arm extended to the landing site within a crater, and the sample collection device operated with such intensity that some dust and rocks escaped before the container could be sealed. This unpredictable event has left scientists uncertain about the exact quantity of Bennu regolith that will return to Earth this Sunday, although they hope it will amount to around 250 grams—potentially the largest asteroid sample ever retrieved.
Preparations for the Capsule's Return
What can we expect to happen in Utah this Sunday? A signal will be transmitted from Lockheed Martin's control center in Colorado, instructing OSIRIS-REx to release its capsule while it is approximately 100,000 km above Earth. The capsule, measuring 80 cm in height and 50 cm in width, will take four hours to descend, entering the atmosphere at an impressive speed of 44,500 km/h, leaving only 13 minutes of flight time.
Once it reaches about 1.5 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, a parachute will deploy, slowing the capsule's descent to a speed of 18 km/h. The expected landing site is the Utah Test and Training Range, located 130 km west of Salt Lake City. Following its arrival, the capsule will be transported to NASA's facility in Houston, where it will be opened in a specialized laboratory designed to prevent contamination of the precious samples.
NASA plans to livestream the capsule's drop on Sunday at 16:55 local time, which can be viewed on YouTube. A conference is scheduled for October 11th, where results from the Bennu samples will be shared.
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