this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2024
9 points (84.6% liked)

NASA

1022 readers
1 users here now

Anything related to the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration); the latest news, events, current and future missions, and more.

Note: This community is an unofficial forum and is unaffiliated with NASA or the U.S. government.

Rules

  1. Be respectful and inclusive.
  2. No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
  3. Engage in constructive discussions.
  4. Share relevant content.
  5. Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
  6. Use appropriate language and tone.
  7. Report violations.
  8. Foster a continuous learning environment.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
antangil
L7ePvmEn
9
After a decade and $1.2 billion, NASA reveals its booty from Bennu: 121 grams (arstechnica.com)
submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by [email protected] to c/nasa
4 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

But, as the saying goes, good things come in small packages. And small though the sample may be, it is 20 times greater than the amount of asteroid material previously returned to Earth by a pair of Japanese sample return missions. A little will go a long way as scientists study the organics and other materials in this asteroid dust to divine clues to the origin of life and conditions that existed at the dawn of our Solar System. You don't need handfuls of material to get a meaningful result from an electron microscope.

Moreover, the sample retrieval was double the minimum requirement for the mission, 60 grams. So, OSIRIS-REx can now definitively be labeled as an unqualified success.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The headline might be a bit clickbait, but the article itself is a positive one:

But, as the saying goes, good things come in small packages. And small though the sample may be, it is 20 times greater than the amount of asteroid material previously returned to Earth by a pair of Japanese sample return missions. A little will go a long way as scientists study the organics and other materials in this asteroid dust to divine clues to the origin of life and conditions that existed at the dawn of our Solar System. You don't need handfuls of material to get a meaningful result from an electron microscope.

Moreover, the sample retrieval was double the minimum requirement for the mission, 60 grams. So, OSIRIS-REx can now definitively be labeled as an unqualified success.

Perhaps I should add this to the main post body.