In September, fragments of a near-Earth asteroid werecarefully dropped off in the Utah desert.
The OSIRIS-REx mission launched in September 2016 and reached asteroid Bennu in December 2018.
The team did manage to collect some material from outside the TAGSAM head.
NASA curation team members along with Lockheed Martin recovery specialists removing the canister lid.Photo: NASA/Robert Markowitz
In October, NASA gave the public afirst look at the asteroid samplesthat had been collected so far.
One can only imagine what more Bennu can offer once scientists get to the bulk of its sample.
Instead, NASA is currently in the process of developing and testing new tools to open up the canister.
The OSIRIS-REx sample capsule landed on Earth in September.Photo: NASA
Bennu is a small near-Earth asteroid that makes a close pass to Earth every six years or so.
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Debris from asteroid Bennu on the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector.Screenshot: NASA TV
