The masthead now reflects a nearly three year journey, to return home, albeit on a "fly-by" basis.
We have covered it closely -- the first time humans have collected samples of the early proto-planetary materials which formed around five billion years ago. . . and brought that "star stuff" home for analysis. It seems to be not too relatively dense, certainly not as dense as rocky solid lead-bearing, or iron-ores might present -- as it spewed wildly into space, when airbrushed into the collection canister, off of a pogo stick touchdown maneuver in the fall of 2020. Here's the Sunday coverage rundown, from Goddard/NASA:
. . .The sample of rocks and dust, which the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected from the asteroid Bennu in Oct. 2020, will return to Earth. . . safely landing at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample will give generations of scientists a window into the time when the Sun and planets were forming about 4.5 billion years ago. . . .
The first asteroid sample collected in space by NASA will arrive on Earth Sunday, Sept. 24, and there are multiple events leading up to its landing.
NASA’s live coverage of the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer) capsule landing starts at 10 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. MDT) and will air on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. . . .
To successfully deliver a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, spacecraft operators need to ensure OSIRIS-REx travels at the right speed and direction to release the sample capsule into the atmosphere, landing it on the U.S. Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range. Mission leadership will discuss the results of the spacecraft’s final trajectory maneuvers, and expectations for the capsule’s entry, descent, and landing, and plans for recovery operations in Utah’s western desert. . . .
Now you know. I'll likely only tune in to the audio-cast on Sunday morning -- over a bowl of yogurt, fresh dark cherries, a banana, piping hot coffee & cream, and fresh OJ. See you then!
नमस्ते
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