#OSIRIS REx

[spaceexp]

After a journey of nearly 3.9 billion miles, the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return capsule is back on Earth on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023.

Teams perform the initial safety assessment—the first persons to come into contact with this hardware since it was on the other side of the solar system.

[mindblowingscience]

A sample collected from the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu contains abundant water and carbon, NASA revealed on Wednesday, offering more evidence for the theory that life on Earth was seeded from outer space. The discovery follows a seven-year-round-trip to the distant rock as part of the OSIRIS-REx mission, which dropped off its precious payload in the Utah desert last month for painstaking scientific analysis. "This is the biggest carbon-rich asteroid sample ever returned to Earth," NASA administrator Bill Nelson said at a press event at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the first images of black dust and pebbles were revealed. Carbon accounted for almost five percent of the sample's total weight, and was present in both organic and mineral form, while the water was locked inside the crystal structure of clay minerals, he said.

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[destiel-news-channel]

[Image ID: There are three images. The first one is similar to a title card and shows a screenshot froom the show supernatural. Dean and Castiel stand facing each other. The screenshot is faded and superimposed with a blue background from a news show. In the front is a logo which says 'Destiel News Channel'. The second is a screenshot of Castiel from the same confession scene. At the bottom is a headline which reads 'traces of water and carbon found in an asteroid' and a subline which says 'Guess you could get a carbonated beverage on Bennu!'. The third image is a screenshot of Dean from the same scene edited so that a text looking like subtitles spells out 'I love you'. /End ID]

[historysurvivalguide]

Touchdown! Alien Rock Returned from Billions of Miles Away!

After traveling billions of miles to Bennu and back, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft released its sample capsule toward Earth’s atmosphere at 6:42 a.m. EDT (4:42 a.m. MDT). The spacecraft was 63,000 miles (102,000 kilometers) from Earth’s surface at the time – about one-third the distance from Earth to the Moon.

Traveling at 27,650 mph (44,500 kph), the capsule pierced the atmosphere at 10:42 a.m. EDT (8:42 a.m. MDT), off the coast of California at an altitude of about 83 miles (133 kilometers). Within 10 minutes, it landed on the military range. Along the way, two parachutes successfully deployed to stabilize and slow the capsule down to a gentle 11 mph (18 kph) at touchdown

“The returned samples collected from Bennu will help scientists worldwide make discoveries to better understand planet formation and the origin of organics and water that led to life on Earth, as well as benefit all of humanity by learning more about potentially hazardous asteroids”

After years of anticipation and hard work by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer) team, a capsule of rocks and dust collected from asteroid Bennu finally is on Earth. It landed at 8:52 a.m. MDT (10:52 a.m. EDT) on Sunday, in a targeted area of the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City.

Within an hour and a half, the capsule was transported by helicopter to a temporary clean room set up in a hangar on the training range, where it now is connected to a continuous flow of nitrogen.

Getting the sample under a “nitrogen purge,” as scientists call it, was one of the OSIRIS-REx team’s most critical tasks today. Nitrogen is a gas that doesn’t interact with most other chemicals, and a continuous flow of it into the sample container inside the capsule will keep out earthly contaminants to leave the sample pure for scientific analyses.

[the-oncoming-nightingale]

So, I was reading this National Geographic special-themed number about Space and there was a section about Brian May. I'm a really long time fan of everything concerning Space, but I've "discovered" the Queen only quite recently (due to Good Omens), so I've found it oddly out of context: what could possibly link the band with the Universe?

This is how I've discovered that Brian is not only in love with astronomy since he was young, bulding his own telescope, but he even studied the interplanetary dust for a PhD (in particular how the light is reflected by it, a very interesting phenomenon if you want to search about). He is now working with the OSIRIS-REx team of NASA in the mission on the asteroid Bennu. The article reported also a pic from one of their concerts, where he performs on an asteroid surrounded by planets.

Maybe this doesn't come as a news for many of you, but now I feel the connection between the songs and Crowley in the serie is even greater. I really like to find out ever more deep meanings and connections like these.

[awake-for-a-lifetime]

so NASA returned a sample of asteroid to earth today

look at himb!!!!! look at the little capsule!!!!! not a care in the world. unbothered. flourishing.

[incandescent-creativity]

The stream commentator keep referring to it as a “creamsicle colored parachute” to the point where I’m convinced that’s the actual NASA term for it and that’s. so cute. I love scientists.

[aspaceinthecosmos]

OSIRIS-REx SRC landing in 8 minutes!

[travelinmatt67]

"An Incredible Journey"

Osiris-Rex sample capsule safely returns to Earth. An incredible engineering feat. NASA never ceases to amaze!

[mendely]

OSIRIS-REx sample return day!! Woo!!!

[ralfmaximus]

Scientists approach a science fiction cliche, trying to figure out how best to release its deadly alien parasites onto a helpless earth population.

Nah, just kidding.

Probably.

[merelygifted]

After a seven-year wait, NASA scientists on Tuesday finally pried open a space probe carrying the largest asteroid samples ever brought back to Earth, finding black debris.

[mindblowingscience]

NASA's first asteroid samples fetched from deep space parachuted into the Utah desert Sunday to cap a seven-year journey. In a flyby of Earth, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the sample capsule from 63,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) out. The small capsule landed four hours later on a remote expanse of military land, as the mothership set off after another asteroid. "We have touchdown!" Mission Recovery Operations announced, immediately repeating the news since the landing occurred three minutes early. Officials later said the orange striped parachute opened four times higher than anticipated—around 20,000 feet (6,100 meters)—basing it on the deceleration rate.

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[pepperedart]

Drew this during the sample return livestream! :D

[rapscallion-rumble]

Asteroids 162183 Ryugu, 2 Pallas, 4 Vesta, 3 Juno, 99942 Apophis, 5 Astraea, and 101955 Bennu (ft. Osiris Rex and Earth)

Asteroids! Woohoo!

I'm going to be honest, I don't like the first piece I drew of Bennu with Osiris Rex. The eye and hand is weird, the hair looks bad, etc. Just something to live with, I guess.

[ironychan]

NASA finally getting the Bennu sample open.