Touch down – Asteroid Bennu sample successfully lands on Earth

Canada will obtain a portion of the asteroid materials

LONGUEUIL, QC, Sept. 24, 2023 /CNW/ – This morning at 10:52 a.m. ET, an asteroid pattern collected as a part of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission landed within the Utah desert. In return for the Canadian House Company’s (CSA) contribution to this mission, a portion of the asteroid materials will go to Canada. Will probably be studied by generations of Canadian and worldwide scientists.

The pattern retrieved on asteroid Bennu may maintain the reply to a few of the most elementary questions concerning the photo voltaic system’s historical past and the origins of water and life on Earth. The Canadian OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA) instrument performed a key position within the mission. It was used to scan and measure the form of the whole floor of the asteroid and to assist choose the very best website to gather the specimen.

The pattern can be despatched to NASA’s Johnson House Middle in Houston, the place will probably be curated and distributed to scientists and worldwide collaborators. CSA specialists and Canadians scientists will take part within the collection of the fabric that may make up the Canadian pattern, set to reach on the John H. Chapman House Centre (CSA headquarters), no sooner than 2024. Canada will develop into the fifth nation on the earth to get and curate a pattern collected in house.

Quote

“Because of a sought-after experience in optics, Canada performed a serious position within the largest pattern return mission from exterior the orbit of the Moon. With OSIRIS-REx, Canada is paving the way in which for many years of thrilling house analysis and scientific discovery for generations to return whereas setting itself aside as a world chief, by the efforts of our world-renowned scientists and researchers.”

The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Trade

Fast details
  • Timeline of the OSIRIS-REx mission
    • Launch: September 8, 2016
    • Asteroid Arrival: December 3, 2018
    • Pattern Assortment: October 20, 2020
    • Asteroid Departure Maneuver: Could 10, 2021
    • Pattern Return Capsule within the Utah desert: September 24, 2023
  • Constructing on the legacy of missions just like the Phoenix Mars Lander, OLA was constructed by MDA, with vital contributions from subcontractor Optech. OLA is essentially the most subtle scanning lidar ever to fly to an asteroid, able to centimetre-scale precision from as much as 7 kilometres away.
  • The CSA is funding Canadian researchers:
    • Curatorial and scientific experience: Dr. Kim Tait, Royal Ontario Museum/College of Toronto
    • Pattern evaluation – members of the Science Crew:
      • Dr. Dominique Weis, College of British Columbia
      • Dr. Edward Cloutis, College of Winnipeg
      • Dr. Alan Hildebrand, College of Calgary
      • Dr. Michael Daly, York College
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For additional info: Canadian House Company, Media Relations Workplace, Phone: 450-926-4370