NASA found debris on the OSIRIS-REx canister, which will be carefully disassembled at the Johnson Space Center. The world awaits the sample’s reveal in a live broadcast on October 11
Today’s initial lid removal of the OSIRIS-REx scientific canister revealed black dust and debris on the avionics deck. After touching down in the Utah desert on September 24, the canister from the OSIRIS-REx sample return spacecraft was transferred to NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston on September 25.
The largest collection of astromaterials in the world is kept at Johnson, where curation specialists will take apart the Touch and Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) in order to access the bulk sample inside. These activities are taking place in a brand-new lab created especially for the OSIRIS-REx mission. Inside a glovebox created to facilitate working with the bulky piece of gear, the aluminium top was removed.
The TAGSAM will be placed in a sealed transfer container after being removed from the canister in order to maintain a nitrogen atmosphere for up to two hours. This container gives the team ample time to put the TAGSAM into a different, special glovebox. In the end, this quickens the disassembly procedure. The crew is incredibly focused, and the sample will be exposed with exceptional accuracy to allow for delicate hardware removal without coming into contact with the sample inside.
Scientists and engineers at Johnson will collaborate to finish the disassembly process and unveil the sample to the globe in a unique live broadcast event on October with a variety of team members on hand.
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