Osiris-Rex Takes Overgenerous Bite Of Asteroid Bennu

Irene Klotz November 04, 2020

Osiris-Rex sample collector — Osiris-Rex’s sample collector was filled to overflowing after touching down on the surface of asteroid Bennu on Oct. 20, causing a mylar flap to become slightly wedged open and allowing some particles to escape. The flap—the black bulge on the left inside the ring—is designed to keep the collected material locked inside the sample collector. The unsealed areas appear to be caused by larger rocks that did not fully pass through the flap.
Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin

A NASA press conference at 5 p.m. on a Friday is usually not good news, and sure enough the team overseeing the Osiris-Rex asteroid sample-return mission had a problem to discuss—one they loved. During its 6-sec. encounter with the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, the probe apparently had gathered so much...

Irene Klotz

Irene Klotz is Senior Space Editor for Aviation Week, based in Cape Canaveral. Before joining Aviation Week in 2017, Irene spent 25 years as a wire service reporter covering human and robotic spaceflight, commercial space, astronomy, science and technology for Reuters and United Press International.

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