Science and Exploration

NASA Reveals “Abundance” of Asteroid Bennu Samples

By Craig Bamford

SpaceRef

October 11, 2023

Filed under Asteroid Bennu, NASA, OSIRIS-REx, sample return

NASA Reveals “Abundance” of Asteroid Bennu Samples — NASA says it’s scientifically valuable to have Bennu samples that vary in size.

Image credit: NASA.

NASA revealed the fruits of seven years of labors today (October 11), with the announcement of the samples that were returned from asteroid Bennu by the OSIRIS-REx mission. The reveal happened at an event at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

While the process of extracting, categorizing, and understanding the samples is still ongoing, NASA representatives revealed that they had an overflowing “abundance” of material from the asteroid, and that it contained significant amounts of water, carbon, and other materials they were hoping to find.

Craig Bamford

Craig is a technology journalist with a strong focus on space-related startups, business, and pop culture. He started working in science & technology media in 2016, and began writing about the Canadian space sector in 2017 for SpaceQ. He is a graduate of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, where he specialized in international conflict analysis and conflict resolution. He lives in Toronto.