La sonda recogió muestras de polvo y grava del asteroide Bennu, pero las puertas del compartimiento de muestras no logran cerrarse. “El contenedor de muestras al final del brazo robótico de la sonda penetró tan profundamente en la superficie del asteroide y con tal fuerza que fragmentos de roca quedaron trabados alrededor del borde de la tapa. Somos víctimas de nuestro propio éxito”. “Creemos que estamos perdiendo una pequeña fracción de los materiales, y es más de lo que yo querría, estoy bastante preocupado desde que vi las imágenes."
Comentarios
Hay corriente, que cierren la puerta
Vaya, parecen políticos. Un erroR de cálculo en la misión que hace que la sonda choque con más fuerza de la prevista y es “Víctima de su propio éxito”
Twitter de la Nasa:
Yesterday, the OSIRIS-REx team received images of the spacecraft’s sample collector head brimming with regolith. So much sample was collected that some of it is actually slowly escaping the sampling head.
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GIF del escape: https://www.asteroidmission.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/5_deg_fast_cropped-3-frame-slowed86.gif
Captured on Oct. 22, this series of three images shows that the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) head on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is full of rocks and dust collected from asteroid Bennu. The image series also shows that some of these particles are slowly escaping the sampler head. Analysis by the OSIRIS-REx team suggests that bits of material are passing through small gaps where the head’s mylar flap is slightly wedged open. The mylar flap (the black bulge visible in the 9 o’clock position inside the ring) is designed to keep the collected material locked inside, and these unsealed areas appear to be caused by larger rocks that didn’t fully pass through the flap. Based on available imagery, the team suspects there is plentiful sample inside the head, and is on a path to stow the sample as quickly as possible.
The images were taken by the spacecraft’s SamCam camera as part of the sample verification procedure following the spacecraft’s Oct. 20 sample collection attempt.The TAGSAM system was developed by Lockheed Martin Space to acquire a sample of asteroid material in a low-gravity environment.
Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
The images also show that any movement to the spacecraft and the TAGSAM instrument may lead to further sample loss. To preserve the remaining material, the mission team decided to forego the Sample Mass Measurement activity originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24, and canceled a braking burn scheduled for Friday to minimize any acceleration to the spacecraft.
https://www.asteroidmission.org/?latest-news=nasas-osiris-rex-spacecraft-collects-significant-amount-of-asteroid-bennu
En otros medios:
Osiris-Rex: Nasa probe risks losing asteroid sample after door jams
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54672691
OSIRIS-REx is literally overflowing with asteroid samples from Bennu
https://astronomy.com/news/2020/10/osiris-rex-is-literally-overflowing-with-asteroid-samples-from-bennu
Página web de la Nasa: https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex
El aterrizaje que solo era un picotazo.
Joder macho, no me asusten.
Aquí se ve la maniobra de llenado de la cápsula de retorno.