To collect samples, on the asteroid, in the northern part, a point in a crater with a diameter of
The back-away burn is complete ?✅ I'm now moving to a safe distance away from Bennu. pic.twitter.com/bXk2ufSneS
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) October 20, 2020
The entire rapprochement operation lasted more than four hours. All this time, OSIRIS-REx was gradually approaching the surface of the asteroid.
The contact itself lasted only 16 seconds: the rod with a special device for collecting soil touched the surface. At this moment, one of the nitrogen capsules emitted a cloud of compressed gas, under the influence of which the soil particles settled on the inner surface of the device.
Scientists suggest that some parts of the asteroid could have appeared before the solar system. A study of the soil will shed light on this guess, as well as on how life began on Earth.
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