After the flawless TAG attempt on Asteroid Bennu by NASA’s 3rd New Frontier’s Program mission OSIRIS-REx, the exact mass of sample collected was supposed to have been measured using the concept of a common Physics Law known as moment of Inertia.

*23 Oct 2020 update: The cameras later captured pictures of spacecraft’s sample collector head brimming so full of regolith that it was slowly falling out of the collector, so the Sample Mass Measurement procedure was cancelled to protect the sample. Scientists are confident that more than 60 grams of sample (which is the minimum target) has been collected by OSIRIS-REx and will proceed to quickly stow the sample.

*28 Oct 2020 update: The spacecraft’s sample collector head was successfully placed into its Sample Return Capsule.

*29 Oct 2020 update: The Sample Return Capsule is officially closed! The SRC is targeted to touch down in the Utah desert on 24 Sept, 2023.

I’ll be following OSIRIS-REx mission until 2023. New updates will be posted in a new blog and linked under here.

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Disclaimer: I do not own theses photos. These images were screenshots taken from NASA OSIRIS-REx’s instagram page.

Instagram pages to follow!

NASA OSIRIS-REx: https://www.instagram.com/osiris_rex/

Me, Rachel: https://www.instagram.com/racheltan_hx/