# NASA planning to get sample from an asteroid Tues (with spacecraft OSIRIS-REx) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** science-math\ **Created:** [October 19, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357 "2020-10-19T21:34:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/1 "2020-10-19T21:34:37Z")
If all goes well it will happen. Japan did this once . > **[Ten Things to Know About Bennu - NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/ten-things-to-know-about-bennu/)** > > NASA’s first mission to return a sample from an ancient asteroid arrived at its target, the asteroid Bennu, on Dec. 3, 2018. This mission, the Origins, ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/2 "2020-10-21T17:54:34Z")
It worked as planned , the material will be here on Earth in 2023 ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/3 "2020-10-21T18:58:15Z")
Are there any real pictures of this asteroid ? all i see are simulations… ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/4 "2020-10-21T19:08:29Z")
takes 18 minutes to send a message there so if the camera saw something it would be too late to change the plans. Maybe they took still photos and we will see them at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/5 "2020-10-21T21:13:50Z")
video here [Live coverage: OSIRIS-REx makes touch and go landing on asteroid – Spaceflight Now](https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/10/20/osiris-rex-mission-status-center/) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/6 "2020-10-21T21:24:02Z")
[The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/10/asteroids-bennu-nasa/616787/) has amazing pictures. I would not call it a simulation, it is of course manipulated, but based on real data. [Those](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/09/asteroid-ryugu-hayabusa2-japan/571168/) seem to be “real” pictures from the Japanese Hayabusa mission to the asteroid Ryugu two years ago, but enhanced as well. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/7 "2020-10-22T01:23:55Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > Are there any real pictures of this asteroid ? all i see are simulations… I’m not quite sure what you mean. [NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/content/osiris-rex-images), has provided a mix of simulated images and real pictures. [Here is a picture of Bennu](https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2018/osiris-rex-debuts-new-bennu-images/), taken from about 15 miles (24 kilometers) away: [https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full\_width\_feature/public/thumbnails/image/twelve-image\_polycam\_mosaic\_12-2-18.png](https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_feature/public/thumbnails/image/twelve-image_polycam_mosaic_12-2-18.png) Now, technically that’s not “a” picture; it’s a mosaic of twelve smaller images that have been joined together to form a single large image. But that’s pretty common, and I don’t think it makes that picture a “simulation”. Either directly from NASA, or by way of [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu) or [Phil “The Bad Astronomer” Plait](https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/welcome-to-bennu), there are lots of other pictures. It’s a very strange looking little world-let. (It’s only about a third of a mile wide.) ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/8 "2020-10-22T19:43:31Z")
Ah, that’s more like it ! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2020, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/9 "2020-10-23T12:58:38Z")
i expect i meant animations, or even “dramatisations”. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/10 "2020-10-28T05:59:32Z")
“Roc Saxum”! ---
**Author:** ![cannon\_gray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannon_gray/32/6030_2.png) [@cannon\_gray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cannon_gray)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/11 "2021-01-05T09:06:50Z")
NASA considers Bennu the most dangerous asteroid for the Earth. It is possible that in the next 150 years, the asteroid may come close to the Earth. According to experts, Bennu has a 1 in 2700 chance of hitting Earth between 2175 and 2195. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/12 "2023-09-15T04:45:52Z")
Only ten days until the sample is due to land in Utah. So I figure to bump the thread in anticipation. [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/esnt/2023/teams-watch-weather-as-osiris-rex-returns-asteroid-sample](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/esnt/2023/teams-watch-weather-as-osiris-rex-returns-asteroid-sample) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/13 "2023-09-15T10:42:07Z")
A question occured to me: Did they ever figure out exactly how massive the sample is? ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/14 "2023-09-15T20:56:55Z")
From the NASA article you linked, it seems to be about half a pound? I’m sure they’ve got a more precise value, but they didn’t mention it. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2023, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/15 "2023-09-15T22:53:19Z")
I was hoping for a more exact value, but perhaps they don’t have one. As I recall, when the sample was first grabbed, there was a procedure that would weigh it. But then they realized that the sample grabber was leaking bits of sample, so they skipped the weighing procedure and rushed to get it stowed in the container. I thought possibly they would have figured out the mass from how the spacecraft reacts to the rockets. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/16 "2023-09-20T10:36:43Z")
According to this article, it has 250 ±101 g of asteroid. Yeah, that’s about half a pound. Pretty big error bar. > **[How much of asteroid Bennu is NASA's OSIRIS-REx probe delivering to Earth...](https://www.space.com/osiris-rex-asteroid-sample-how-much)** > > We'll soon find out the exact amount. Four days to go. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/17 "2023-09-24T20:11:38Z")
From another thread: successful landing: > [@The Great Ongoing Space Exploration Thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/912): > > Osiris Rex landing soon Video: Brian ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2023, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/18 "2023-09-24T21:58:13Z")
> **[NASA's first asteroid samples land on Earth after release from spacecraft](https://apnews.com/article/nasa-asteroid-sample-return-utah-9918c2c13b689e01800de4ea42d60188)** > > A space capsule carrying NASA’s first asteroid samples has landed in the Utah desert. The Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the capsule Sunday, following a seven-year journey to asteroid Bennu and back. > [@](#): > > Within two hours of touchdown, the capsule was inside a temporary clean room at the Defense Department’s Utah Test and Training Range, hoisted there by helicopter. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2023, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/19 "2023-09-24T22:07:25Z")
It was pretty neat that it landed already wrapped in a nice plastic bag. How convenient! It’s a great accomplishment and will be interesting to see what it found. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2023, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357/20 "2023-09-27T12:06:28Z")
They have opened the lid, and found some hopefully asteroid dust. They still need to open the inner canister. > **[Scientists just opened the lid to NASA’s asteroid sample canister](https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/09/scientists-get-first-glimpse-of-samples-returned-from-asteroid/)** > > "There is some black dust-like material that's visible. We're hoping that's from Bennu." Brian [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-planning-to-get-sample-from-an-asteroid-tues-with-spacecraft-osiris-rex/923357.md?page=2)