Bennu Becomes The Most Asteroid Sample From Space

The remaining Bennu samples that were collected (photo: dock. NASA)

JAKARTA For several months, it was difficult for NASA to open the Acquisition Mechanism of the Seats-and-Go Sample (TAGSAM). The robotic arm of the OSIRIS-REx aircraft carried a sample of asteroid Bennu.

Initially, the collection of samples in the lovebox went smoothly. However, when NASA wanted to open the head of TAGSAM, they struggled because there was no opening tool that could get into the lovebox.

NASA's curation team from the Johnson Space Center has finally developed a new tool to open the head of the TAGSAM. After the tool was tested, the head of the TAGSAM was successfully opened and the samples began to be re-collected.

The remaining Bennu samples have been transferred into anmenable container. The remaining asteroid has been calculated and weighs up to 70.3 grams. When combined with the previously calculated sample, the number reaches 121.6 grams.

The results of this calculation show that the OSIRIS-REx mission has succeeded in achieving the target. The plane only needs to bring home 60 grams of material, but the number has doubled so that Bennu becomes the most asteroids ever collected.

Of the 121.6 grams of samples, NASA will store 70 percent of samples in Johnson for research purposes. This stored material will be examined by scientists from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and much more.

All information about Bennu and its material components will be released in the form of a catalog. Documents containing the list of information will be distributed to the entire global scientific community in the coming spring.