NASA’s capsule containing samples from the asteroid Bennu landed at 08:52 local time (15:52 Lisbon time) in the Utah desert in the United States, putting an end to a seven-year journey.
This was the first time that NASA was able to collect samples from an asteroid. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency was able to recover asteroid debris in 2020, but it was a small amount.
NASA’s mission, called OSIRIS-REx, hopes to collect 250 grams of the asteroid Bennu, although that will not be known with more certainty until the capsule is opened in two days.
Experts believe that the asteroid Bennu contains particles dating back to the formation of the solar system 4,500 million years ago, and that it could provide some answers to questions that have interested humanity for centuries, such as the origin of life and the solar system itself. .
NASA broadcast the landing live, and the most exciting moment was when the parachute was deployed, allowing the capsule to reduce its speed and prevent it from colliding with the desert.
“Welcome home,” Noelia Gonzalez, of NASA’s communications team, said upon her arrival.
The journey began in 2016, when the Osiris-Rex probe left the NASA Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It arrived at Bennu in 2018, and after flying around the asteroid for two years searching for the best place to collect samples, the spacecraft approached the surface to extract dust and pieces of rock.
“Friendly zombie fanatic. Analyst. Coffee buff. Professional music specialist. Communicator.”
