NASA on Wednesday showed off its first asteroid samples delivered last month by a spacecraft — a jumble of black dust and rubble that's the most ever returned t
This photo provided by NASA on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 shows the outside of the Osiris-Rex sample collector with material from asteroid Bennu at middle right. Scientists have found evidence of both carbon and water in initial analysis of this material. The bulk of the sample is located inside. NASA on Wednesday showed off its first asteroid samples delivered last month by a spacecraft — a jumble of black dust and rubble that's the most ever returned to Earth.
Black dust and particles were scattered around the outside edge of the internal sample chamber, according to Lauretta. He said there's still "a whole treasure chest of extraterrestrial material" to be studied. The samples are priceless, the preserved building blocks from the dawn of the solar system.
"That is how we think water got to the Earth," he said. "Minerals like we're seeing from Bennu landed on Earth 4 billion years ago to 4.5 billion years ago, making our world habitable." That's why scientists did not have a precise measurement of what was coming back; they estimated 250 grams, or about a cupful, ahead of the Sept. 24 landing in the Utah desert. They won't have a good count until the container is opened, within two weeks or so.
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