Largest asteroid sample ever collected lands in the United States

The largest asteroid sample ever collected landed in the Utah desert, United States, on Sunday September 24, after a dizzying final descent through the Earth’s atmosphere, seven years after takeoff of the Osiris-Rex probe.

The fall, observed by army sensors, had to be slowed by two successive parachutes. The main parachute, however, deployed higher than expected, and the capsule landed slightly earlier than expected, a NASA commentator announced.

The sample, taken in 2020 from the asteroid Bennu, must contain around 250 grams of material, according to the American space agency’s estimate. He must “help us better understand the types of asteroids that could threaten Earth” and enlighten “the very beginning of the history of our solar system”underlined the head of the American space agency, Bill Nelson.

A quarter of the sample will be used for experiments

Approximately four hours before the scheduled landing time, the Osiris-Rex probe released the capsule containing the sample, more than 100,000 km from Earth. During the last 13 minutes, this capsule crossed the atmosphere: it entered at more than 44,000 km/h, with a temperature rising to 2,700°C.

The majority of the sample will be preserved for study by future generations. About 25% will be immediately used for experiments, and a small part will be shared with Japan and Canada, partners in this NASA mission.