A NASA spacecraft recently collected rocks Asteroid More materials were seized than expected. Says the American Space Agency Sample It’s too big to block the collector’s container door.

Osiris-Rex spacecraft successfully completed Asteroid On October 20, the sample operation took place 320 million kilometers from Earth.

Samples were trapped in a device called a collection head. NASA found the device’s locked door in images obtained from the spacecraft control team. This obstacle caused some asteroid objects to escape into space.

For this reason, NASA scientists have decided to move the deadline to complete the next phase of the operation. This includes securing or storing the collection head Pill Inside the spacecraft.

“Time Of essenceThomas Surbuchen told reporters about the change in plans. He is NASA’s Associate Administrator of Science.

The process of storing the samples is done in several stages. After each stage, the spacecraft sends information and images to Earth. Different members of the team watch the process to make sure things are progressing properly.

The spacecraft is so far away that it takes about 18 minutes for its signals to reach Earth. Any communication from the ground controllers requires the same amount of time to reach the Osiris-Rex. For this reason, the storage process was expected to take a few days.

Scientists believe the surgery seized up to 400 grams Asteroid object. This is much more than the 60 grams that Osiris-Rex is expected to collect.

Mission leaders said they did not know exactly how much material was inside the sample capsule until it returned to Earth. The team planned to carry out a sample measurement process. But that project was canceled because NASA said it would cause more objects to be ejected.

“I think we will have to wait until we get home Exactly How much do we have, ”Osiris-Rex lead investigator Dante Loretta told reporters. “As you can imagine, it’s hard. … But the good news is that we see a lot of things. ”

Team members were also considering making another collection effort. But the leak issue led NASA to decide against the project. “To be very honest, we could not have done a better collection experiment,” Loretta said.

Osiris-Rex is expected to return to Earth in March 2021. The mission will take two and a half years, and the spacecraft is scheduled to arrive in September 2023.

The mission marked NASA’s first asteroid collection mission. Another country only in Japan Successfully captured Such a sample.

Asteroids are among the objects left in the formation of the Solar System about 4.5 billion years ago. NASA has decided to collect a sample from Bennu as it is believed to contain carbon-rich materials. Saved Construction blocks of our solar system.

Scientists say asteroid samples will help them better understand how planets formed and how life began on Earth.

I am Brian Lynn.

Brian Lynn wrote the story for VAA Learning English based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agency France-Press, and NASA. The editor was Ashley Thompson.

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Words in this story

Asteroid – n. Objects made of rock and metal orbit the Sun, but are smaller than the planets

Sample – n. A small amount that provides information about what was taken from it

Pill – n. Part of a spacecraft carrying people

Of essence – phr. Very important

Exactly – Adv. Exactly

Save – V. Keep something intact or prevent it from being destroyed