NASA's first asteroid samples land on Earth after release from spacecraft UPDATE

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This is pretty amazing! Read the article


NASA's first asteroid samples land on Earth after release from Osiris-Rex spacecraft | AP News

NASA's first asteroid samples fetched from deep space parachuted into the Utah desert Sunday to cap a seven-year journey.
In a flyby of Earth, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the sample capsule from 63,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) out. The small capsule landed four hours later on a remote expanse of military land, as the mothership set off after another asteroid.

What is also interesting is it mentions Brian May. Did not know this about him, lead guitar of Queen and has a PhD in astrophysics.
 
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What is amazing is the time frames involved and the distances traveled! The spacecraft then turned around for another mission,

Osiris-Rex is already chasing after the asteroid Apophis, and will reach it in 2029.!

Don't be in a rush to catch up with Apophis. He can be a real grumpy guy.

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I heard it was a grand total of eight ounces of material. I wonder how much that cost per ounce.
 
After a 7 year, 3 point something billion mile dirt grabbing trip and a re-entry speed of holy-cow, the capsule landed back in Utah close to where the scientists expected.
Why can't these same folks tell me where, and when, the next SkyLab will wind up?
 
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After a 7 year, 3 point something billion mile dirt grabbing trip and a re-entry speed of holy-cow, the capsule landed back in Utah close to where the scientists expected.
Why can't these same folks tell me where, and when, the next SkyLab will wind up?

Big difference between uncontrolled and commanded re-entry.
 
I can't imagine the total cost of bringing back a few ounces of asteroid dust. The moon missions got us what…Tang? Guess I'm just a little too practical to see the monetary value of such things, considering the substandard conditions many people have to live in every day here on earth.
 
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I'm sure we could all get along just fine without a few ounces of asteroid dust but when you think about all of the technological advances that many of us enjoy in our daily lives that were derived either on purpose or even by accident that were a direct result of man's "need to know" or scientific exploration it would boggle the mind.
 
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