The opening of the asteroid sample module, experts say, can help explore the mystery of the origin of life on Earth.
CTOnews.com Dante Lauretta, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, has waited nearly 20 years to obtain a prototype specimen from an asteroid that he believes holds the key to solving the mystery of the origin of life on Earth.
CTOnews.com previously reported that the U.S. asteroid sampling probe OSIRIS-REx successfully collected rock samples on asteroid Bennu in 2020, successfully launched the sample capsule last Sunday, and landed at the target area of the Department of Defense Utah Test and Training Site near Salt Lake City, Utah at 10:52 a.m. EDT.
OSIRIS-REx continues to return to orbit around the solar system under the influence of thrusters to visit another asteroid.
The ground team quickly retrieved the capsule and flew it Monday on a U.S. Air Force cargo plane from Utah to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The capsule was then transported to the Space Center's purpose-built Superclean Curatorial Facility, which is also the repository of lunar rocks brought back by NASA's Apollo missions more than 50 years ago.
Related Reading:
"The American asteroid sampling probe OSIRIS-REx sends sample capsules back to Earth containing rocks and dust from asteroid Benu."
