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Spacecraft sample collection and subsurface excavation of asteroid (101955) Bennu

2022; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Volume: 377; Issue: 6603 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1126/science.abm1018

1095-9203

D. S. Lauretta, Coralie D. Adam, Alicia J. Allen, Ronald‐Louis Ballouz, O. S. Barnouin, K. J. Becker, T. L. Becker, C. A. Bennett, E. B. Bierhaus, Brent J. Bos, Rich Burns, H. Campins, Yuichiro Cho, P. R. Christensen, E. Church, B. E. Clark, H. C. Connolly, M. G. Daly, D. N. DellaGiustina, C. Drouet d’Aubigny, Joshua P. Emery, H. Enos, Sandra Freund Kasper, J. B. Garvin, Kenneth M. Getzandanner, D. R. Golish, V. E. Hamilton, C. W. Hergenrother, H. H. Kaplan, L. P. Keller, Erik J. Lessac‐Chenen, Andrew J. Liounis, H. Ma, Leilah K. McCarthy, Brennen Miller, Michael C. Moreau, Tomokatsu Morota, Derek Nelson, J. O. Nolau, Ryan Olds, M. Pajola, John Pelgrift, Anjani T. Polit, M. A. Ravine, Dennis C. Reuter, B. Rizk, B. Rozitis, A. J. Ryan, Eric Sahr, Naoya Sakatani, J. A. Seabrook, Sanford Selznick, Michael Skeen, A. A. Simon, Seiji Sugita, K. J. Walsh, M. M. Westermann, C. W. V. Wolner, Koki Yumoto,

Isotope Analysis in Ecology

Carbonaceous asteroids, such as (101955) Bennu, preserve material from the early Solar System, including volatile compounds and organic molecules. We report spacecraft imaging and spectral data collected during and after retrieval of a sample from Bennu’s surface. The sampling event mobilized rocks and dust into a debris plume, excavating a 9-meter-long elliptical crater. This exposed material is darker, spectrally redder, and more abundant in fine particulates than the original surface. The bulk density of the displaced subsurface material was 500 to 700 kilograms per cubic meter, which is about half that of the whole asteroid. Particulates that landed on instrument optics spectrally resemble aqueously altered carbonaceous meteorites. The spacecraft stored 250 ± 101 grams of material, which will be delivered to Earth in 2023.