style

NASA's final tally shows spacecraft returned double the amount of asteroid rubble

Font size+Author:Stellar Series news portalSource:health2024-05-01 16:00:02I want to comment(0)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA finally has counted up all the asteroid samples returned by a space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA finally has counted up all the asteroid samples returned by a spacecraft last fall — and it’s double the rubble return goal.

Officials reported Thursday that the Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected 121.6 grams (4.29 ounces) of dust and pebbles from asteroid Bennu. That’s just over half a cup and the biggest cosmic haul ever from beyond the moon.

It took NASA longer than expected to pry open the sample container because of stuck fasteners.

The black, carbon-rich samples — the first ever collected from an asteroid by NASA — are stored at a special curation lab at Houston’s Johnson Space Center.

Osiris-Rex returned the samples last September, three years after gathering them from the asteroid. The haul for the $1 billion mission would have been greater, but rocks jammed the lid of the container following the grab and some samples floated away.

Related articles
  • To fend off tourists, a town in Japan is building a big screen blocking the view of Mount Fuji

    To fend off tourists, a town in Japan is building a big screen blocking the view of Mount Fuji

    2024-05-01 15:02

  • Macao SAR Legislative Assembly approves chief executive election law amendments

    Macao SAR Legislative Assembly approves chief executive election law amendments

    2024-05-01 15:01

  • Joe Lycett reveals he has a new girlfriend on Channel 4 show as comedian talks about his sexuality

    Joe Lycett reveals he has a new girlfriend on Channel 4 show as comedian talks about his sexuality

    2024-05-01 14:54

  • Book of Xi's discourses on Chinese modernization published in English, bilingual versions

    Book of Xi's discourses on Chinese modernization published in English, bilingual versions

    2024-05-01 13:14

Netizen comments