NASA’s social media posts not only reveal exciting information about Earth, but also introduce people to the world beyond our Blue Planet. In its recent announcement, the space agency shared one such rocky remnant from space, asteroid Bennu. They wrote on Instagram that “parts of ancient space rocks may contain clues about how rocky planets, including Earth, formed.”
The image shows pieces collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from the asteroid Bennu. (Instagram/@nasa)
“For the next two years, the #OSIRISREx science team will continue to study the samples. NASA will preserve at least 70% of the sample at @NASAJohnson for further research by scientists worldwide, including future generations of scientists,” they wrote. OSIRIS-REx is NASA’s first mission to collect samples from an asteroid. He returned to Earth to drop off a sample from the asteroid Bennu.
Why is it important to study asteroids?
“Asteroids are remnants from the period of planet formation, so by studying asteroids we can learn what existed in our solar system before the Earth was fully formed. Has there been water yet? Organic molecules? DNA? RNA?” NASA announced.
“The first studies of this asteroid sample show evidence of high concentrations of carbon and water, which, when found together, are among the building blocks of life as we know it on Earth,” they added.
In addition to the detailed description, they also shared three pictures and a video. They capture a variety of scenes, from a pile of asteroid material lying on top of a device to small asteroid particles covering the base of a ‘science tank’, to scientists studying ancient fragments.
Check out NASA’s post on asteroids:
The post was shared just a day ago. It has since amassed more than 3.2 million likes and counting. The stock also garnered a ton of comments.
Here’s how Instagram users reacted to NASA’s announcement:
“Fascinating! How long will it take NASA to figure out those asteroid parts?” asked the Instagram user. To which NASA responded, “It will take science teams about two years to answer our hypotheses, but more science will take place over decades, just like with Apollo.”
Another person commented: “Can I have an explanation of how they collected the asteroid sample? Aren’t they floating in space?” The space agency quickly responded and shared, “Our OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was launched in 2016, traveled for about two years and landed on asteroid Bennu in December 2018. It collected a sample and headed back to Earth in May 2021. The sample has just landed on Earth this September!”
“Speechless, I humbly enjoy this gruesome treasure,” added a third. “Absolutely incredible,” wrote a fourth. What do you think of this amazing piece from NASA about asteroids?
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Categories: Trending
Source: newstars.edu.vn