OSIRIS-REx Sample Return

[Unitron48]

"The sample of rocks and dust, which the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected from the asteroid Bennu in Oct. 2020, will return to Earth on Sept. 24, safely landing at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range."

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/prac ... ple-return

Dave

[Graeme1858]

Delivered right to the door!

That's definitely a date for the diary.

Graeme

[Graeme1858]

"OSIRIS-REx Adjusts Course to Target Sample Capsule’s Landing Zone"

https://blogs.nasa.gov/osiris-rex/2023/ ... ding-zone/

[helicon]

OSIRIS REx sample return to be unveiled by NASA today:

https://www.space.com/nasa-osiris-rex-a ... al-webcast

[AntennaGuy]

Here's more
NASA: Bennu asteroid samples contain water, carbon and organic 'building blocks of life'
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2023/1 ... 697031326/

[helicon]

Great outcome. Seems to have molecules which can sprout into life (perhaps) given the right environment and catalytic factors, admittedly we are a bit short on knowledge of the process, if true actually. The Panspermia theory, advanced by the Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius in 1903 codified the theory which states that objects in the universe including comets and asteroids contain the necessary components for life. Francis Crick, the DNA researcher took it a bit further suggesting that civilizations of advanced intelligence could be behind the seeding of planets. Carl Sagan mostly opposed the theory, even though he talked about a potential "cosmic soup" of molecules on the Cosmos TV show. He thought that cosmic radiation and gamma rays would snuff out life in space...