Engineers were able to NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Team Clears Hurdle to Access Remaining Bennu Sample / NASA unscrew the jammed bolts holding the lid of the TAGSAM container with soil samples from the asteroid Bennu.
For this purpose, experts have even developed and manufactured two new multi-component tools. Now, with their help, steps are being taken to complete the disassembly of the complex mechanism so that the rest of the samples can be extracted.
Difficulties arose due to the fact that the module is located in a "clean zone", where engineers are forced to work through silicone glove sleeves in order not to pollute samples with terrestrial air. In addition, the container is equipped with a sophisticated security system, which also complicated the task.
Bennu, which is also called the "Doomsday asteroid," is approximately 4.5 billion years old. The soil from it was delivered by the NASA OSIRIS-REx interplanetary station at the end of September 2023. Previously, scientists had already managed to extract about 70 grams of valuable material from the device's storage. Preliminary analysis revealed a high content of water and carbon in it, one of the main components for the origin of life.
