(AGENPARL) - Roma, 14 Settembre 2023 - (AGENPARL) – gio 14 settembre 2023 September 14, 2023 
MEDIA ADVISORY M23-117
*NASA to Reveal Asteroid Sample Grabbed in Space, Delivered to Earth*
osirisrextagprint2016_1.jpg
This artist’s concept shows the OSIRIS-REx (Origins Spectral Interpretation
Resource Identification Security – Regolith Explorer) spacecraft contacting
the asteroid Bennu with the Touch-And-Go Sample Arm Mechanism or TAGSAM. The
mission aims to return a sample of Bennu’s surface coating to Earth for study
as well as return detailed information about the asteroid and it’s
trajectory.
*/Credits: NASA/*
The first asteroid sample collected in space and brought to Earth by the
United States will be unveiled at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on
Wednesday, Oct. 11, and media accreditation is now open.
NASA will host a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT for the reveal, which will
air live on NASA Television, the NASA app [1], and the agency’s website
[2].
During the event, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx [3] (Origins, Spectral Interpretation,
Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer) science team will
discuss an initial analysis of the sample, which is expected to land on
Sunday, Sept. 24, in the Utah desert.
After the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft enters Earth’s atmosphere and safely lands,
NASA experts will collect the rocks and dust retrieved from the asteroid
Bennu inside the capsule, and bring the sample to NASA Johnson for
examination in a pristine curation facility.
News conference participants include:
* NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
* Francis McCubbin, OSIRIS-REx deputy curation lead, NASA Johnson
* Daniel Glavin, OSIRIS-REx sample analysis lead, NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt
* Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator, University of Arizona,
Tucson
This event has limited availability due to space in the facility. U.S. and
international media interested in attending must request participation in
advance. The deadline for U.S. media is 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, and 6 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 29, for international media. Credential media can request
accreditation by contacting the NASA Johnson newsroom at: 281-483-5111
information after they register. NASA’s media accreditation policy [5] is
online.
Media on-site will have the opportunity to interact with subject matter
experts and see the sample live (via video feed) from the curation
laboratory.
Touchdown at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range near
Dugway, Utah, on Sept. 24, will mark the end of a seven-year journey to
explore the asteroid Bennu, collect a sample from its surface, and deliver it
to Earth.
The next phase of the mission, which includes both curation and research
activities, will kick off after the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule arrives
at Johnson on Monday, Sept. 25. The curation team will carefully disassemble
the sample container to extract the bulk of the sample and researchers will
perform a first-look analysis of the sample, the results of which will be
discussed for the first time Oct. 11.
NASA built a new OSIRIS-REx Sample Curation Laboratory where curators from
the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science team will manage
distribution of samples to scientists around the world over the coming years.
Those scientists seek to learn more about how our planet and solar system
formed, as well as the origin of organics that may have led to life on Earth.
A portion of the sample will also be reserved for research decades from now,
utilizing technologies that will improve over the years.
Johnson houses the world’s largest collection of astromaterials from the
solar system under one roof, including samples from asteroids, comets, Mars,
the Moon, Sun, and dust from other stars. Scientists use world-class
laboratories to perform research on planetary materials and the space
environment to investigate the origin and evolution of our solar system and
beyond.
To learn more about OSIRIS-REx, please visit:
*https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex* [6]
-end-
*Press Contacts*
Karen Fox / Alana Johnson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1257 / 202-358-1501
Shaneequa Vereen
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
NASA news releases and other information are available automatically by
text in the body is required).
To unsubscribe from the list, send an e-mail message
is required).
[1] https://www.nasa.gov/connect/apps.html
[2] https://www.nasa.gov/live
[3] https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex
[5] https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-agencywide-media-accreditation-policy
[6] https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex