NASA is struggling to open its asteroid pattern container

About a month in the past, pristine samples from an asteroid landed on Earth whereas enclosed inside a good capsule. The pattern canister was designed to maintain the principle chunk of the asteroid secure throughout its journey via area, however now groups at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) are struggling to open it to get on the area rocks.

For the previous week, the curation crew for the OSIRIS-REx mission has been having a tough time opening the TAGSAM head, a spherical sampler head on the finish of an articulated arm on the spacecraft that was used to seize the pattern from the asteroid. The TAGSAM head (Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) is the place the majority of the asteroid pattern is, and it’s subsequently being fastidiously dealt with by members of the crew via a specialised glovebox underneath the circulate of nitrogen to stop contamination.

“After multiple attempts at removal, the team discovered two of the 35 fasteners on the TAGSAM head could not be removed with the current tools approved for use in the OSIRIS-REx glovebox,” NASA wrote in a weblog publish on Friday. “The team has been working to develop and implement new approaches to extract the material inside the head, while continuing to keep the sample safe and pristine.”

When the aluminum lid to the pattern canister was first eliminated, the mission crew discovered black mud and particles on the avionics deck of the canister. On October 11, NASA revealed the primary take a look at the samples collected from the surface of the TAGSAM head whereas including that it nonetheless hasn’t opened the pattern canister but. “The only problem is a great problem and that’s we’ve found a lot more sample than we’re anticipating before even getting into the TAGSAM,” Francis McCubbin, curator at NASA’s JSC, stated throughout a stay occasion.

As it seems, there’s additionally a not-so-good downside. So far, the curation crew has managed to take away a few of the materials from contained in the canister with tweezers or a scoop whereas holding down the TAGSAM head’s mylar flap. Over the subsequent few weeks, the crew will attempt to provide you with new methods to extract the remainder of the pattern.

“The tools for any proposed solution to extract the remaining material from the head must be able to fit inside the glovebox and not compromise the scientific integrity of the collection, and any procedures must be consistent with the clean room’s standards,” NASA wrote in its weblog publish.

The asteroid samples extracted up to now, nevertheless, exceed the mission’s aim of accumulating 60 grams of particles from the asteroid, based on NASA. To date, the area company has recovered 2.48 ounces (70.3 grams) of rocks and dirt. The crew behind the mission has additionally gotten a head begin in analyzing the samples and located an abundance of carbon and water molecules. Scientists have been hoping to seek out proof of natural matter embedded inside the asteroid pattern because it helps the idea that the constructing blocks of life hitch-hike their means via the universe aboard these historical area rocks.

The OSIRIS-REx mission launched in September 2016 and reached asteroid Bennu in December 2018. After practically two years of observations, the spacecraft landed on Bennu and snagged a pattern from its floor in October 2020. OSIRIS-REx dropped off the asteroid samples within the Utah desert on September 24.

The mission could have not too long ago hit a (hopefully momentary) snag, however early findings from the asteroid pattern have confirmed to be fairly promising so hopefully the remaining bits of the area rock make it out of that canister quickly.

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