Asteroid Samples leaking from OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft

Recently NASA performed the mission of taking rock and dirt samples from the asteroid Bennu with the help of OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. During which the team that operated from here on earth wasn’t sure about the amount of samples collected but confirmed that they had a successful completion of the mission. To get a better idea or to be caught up in this story about the spacecraft, its timeline, and how NASA actually carried out a mission to take samples from an asteroid, consider reading my previous article - OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft touches down on asteroid Bennu.

On 23 October, during a media briefing called by NASA, officials said that the images taken of the head of the sampling device, called the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM), showed material leaking out of the container from a gap in a Mylar diaphragm that is supposed to seal the bottom of the head.

These images show that a cloud of particles are floating outside of the TAGSAM and the sampling head is jammed with materials. The samples are also moving away at a rate of one centimeter per second. According to calculations, the visible material outside the spacecraft may account for 2 to 10 grams. The concern right now is that more material might also leak out of the sample head due to which NASA has made a change of plans.

At first, the team had originally intended to weigh their samples by slowly spinning the spacecraft and measuring the change in its moment of inertia but this would only lead to more leakage of the samples. Instead, the team has canceled that and are planning to stow the samples in a canister inside the spacecraft, where they will be sealed for return to earth.

This stow maneuver was planned only in early November, assuming that the sample collection did meet the goal of 60 grams of material. Now it is clear that the spacecraft sampled far more and with the risk of losing more material, the stowing process will begin as soon as 27 October after finalizing procedures and securing time on the Deep Space Network.

It is also possible that the team may lose additional materials during the stowing process but that is something that they have to proceed with because they will definitely have a sufficient amount of samples to work with at the end of the day.

This is definitely one of the important missions in humanity’s history because with the help of OSIRIS-REx we will try to answer the monumental question that stumped philosophers and scientists from the beginning of time i.e. “Where did we come from?” To answer that let’s understand why Bennu is special. It is considered a rare B-type asteroid, primitive, meaning that they haven’t changed much since the earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago. This could mean that they contain carbon-based organic molecules similar to those that led to life here on earth. When the samples arrive back on earth around September 2023, one can clearly anticipate the amount of excitement that it can create, the organic compound in the samples may be the possible answer that can make us truly understand who we are and our origins.