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. |
Family of 'Red History' Takes Root in JinggangshanSinging 'Red Ballads' to Carry Forward Revolutionary SpiritBlue Sky Rescue Team Captain Saving Lives — with LoveFamily's Virtues Nourish Younger GenerationsChinese Woman Takes Peru's 'Alpacas' to International Import ExpoDream Maker in Rice FieldsTianhetan: 'Bonsai of Guizhou's Mountains and Water'Telling China's Story in Objective, Comprehensive WayWoman Photographer Captures Moments, Reflects Spirit of the TimesDream Maker in Rice Fields