Nasa Capsule Carrying Asteroid Samples Lands In US State Of Utah
A Nasa Spacecraft Carrying The Largest Asteroid Soil Sample Ever Collected Sped Through Earth’s Atmosphere And Fell On The Utah Desert, Bringing The Cosmic Specimen To Scientists
The Robotic Spacecraft Osiris-Rex Dropped A Gumdrop-Shaped Capsule Hours Earlier As The Mothership Passed Within 67,000 Miles (107,826 Km) Of Earth. The Capsule Landed On The Huge Utah Test And Training Range Of The Us Military In A Designated Landing Zone West Of Salt Lake City.
A Six-Year Cooperative Mission Between Nasa And The University Of Arizona Was Concluded With The Final Descent And Landing, Which Was Broadcast Live On A Nasa Website. It Followed Two Previous Missions By Japan’s Space Agency That Ended In 2010 And 2020. It Was Only The Third Asteroid Sample, And By Far The Largest, Ever Returned To Earth For Investigation.
A Red-And-White Parachute That Slowed The Capsule’s High-Speed Descent After Touchdown Rested A Few Feet Distant On The Sand Of The Utah Desert’s Floor.
Bennu, A Tiny, Carbon-Rich Asteroid Discovered In 1999, Is Where Osiris-Rex Acquired Its Sample Three Years Ago. Despite The Remote Likelihood Of An Impact, The Space Rock Is Categorized As A “Near-Earth Object” Since It Travels Relatively Close To Our Planet Every Six Years.
Bennu, Which Appears To Be Composed Of A Loose Jumble Of Rocks, Is Only 500 Meters (547 Yards) Across, Making It Slightly Wider Than The Empire State Building, But It Is Enormous In Comparison To The Chicxulub Asteroid, Which Struck Earth 66 Million Years Ago And Wiped Out The Dinosaurs.
In Order To Rescue The Capsule And Ensure That The Integrity Of The Outer Canister Containing The Asteroid Material Was Maintained Through Re-Entry And Landing, A Recovery Team Of Scientists And Technicians Was Waiting. The Sample Was To Be Kept Pure And Uncontaminated By Anything From Earth.
The Black Capsule And Its Priceless Contents Were Flown By Helicopter To A “Clean Room” At The Utah Test Range For Initial Investigation After A Preliminary Assessment At The Landing Location. It Will Be Moved In The Upcoming Days To Nasa’s Johnson Space Center In Houston, Where 200 Scientists From 60 Institutions Across The World Will Receive Smaller Specimens As Promised. The Osiris-Rex Spacecraft’s Main Body Is Anticipated To Continue Its Journey To Another Near-Earth Asteroid Called Apophis
Source : The Telegraph Online