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Tom Yossarian Joad

(19,211 posts)
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 11:31 PM Oct 2020

'Literally, We Crushed It': Video Shows NASA Space Probe Touch an Asteroid

So cool I had to share this...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/21/science/nasa-osiris-rex.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage

https://vp.nyt.com/video/2020/10/21/89382_1_21ASTEROID_wg_1080p.mp4

When NASA’s OSIRIS-REX spacecraft touched the surface of an asteroid on Tuesday to gather a sample of rocks and dirt, the operation proceeded smoothly, to the glee of the mission’s operators 200 million miles away on Earth.

But the biggest question remained unanswered: How much of the asteroid did OSIRIS-REX pick up? Did it manage to gather any samples at all?

On Wednesday, the mission managers released a video of the sampling mechanism hitting the surface of the asteroid, within three feet or so of where the spacecraft had been aimed.

“I must have watched about a hundred times last night,” Dante Lauretta, the principal investigator of the mission, said during a news conference on Wednesday.

The sampling mechanism set down partly on a rock about 8 inches wide. That could have caused a problem if it had prevented the mechanism from pressing up against the surface.

“But literally, we crushed it,” Dr. Lauretta said. “When the spacecraft made contact, that rock appears to fragment and shatter, which is great news.”
/snip

Video and more at link.

5 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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'Literally, We Crushed It': Video Shows NASA Space Probe Touch an Asteroid (Original Post) Tom Yossarian Joad Oct 2020 OP
Wow just watched that 10 times. Amazing! cbdo2007 Oct 2020 #1
Oh, so it wasn't good enough that we tried to BLOW UP THE MOON!!! Silent3 Oct 2020 #2
That thread was the first thing that came into my head trackfan Oct 2020 #3
NASA carries comprehensive collision and liability on their spacecraft. KY_EnviroGuy Oct 2020 #5
Kick! Hekate Oct 2020 #4

Silent3

(15,018 posts)
2. Oh, so it wasn't good enough that we tried to BLOW UP THE MOON!!!
Thu Oct 22, 2020, 11:42 PM
Oct 2020

Now we're going wreck all of the asteroids too!? Without even asking the asteroidians what they think!?

KY_EnviroGuy

(14,483 posts)
5. NASA carries comprehensive collision and liability on their spacecraft.
Fri Oct 23, 2020, 04:40 AM
Oct 2020

........... .........

Now if tRump was in charge of NASA, he would preemptively sue the asteroid for damages.

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