New research on a sample taken from the Bennu asteroid, a small part of which should soon arrive in Canada, offer an overview of his training.
Studies published last week in scientific journals Nature Astronomy et Nature Geoscience Show an overview of the granules taken and brought back to Earth in September 2023 as part of the Osiris-Rex mission, led by NASA.
The three studies, in which Canadian researchers participate, have revealed that Bennu is a geocroiser asteroid, but its composition suggests that the parent asteroid from which it has separated contains materials from the whole solar system.
These scientists have examined the origin, training and evolution of Bennu’s sample in order to understand his history.
Thanks to its contribution to the sample recovery mission, the Canadian Space Agency (ASC) will receive a share of celestial wealth, but not before 2026.
“The Canadian Space Agency is strengthening its capacity in order to keep its first sample taken from space,” said the Dr Patrick Hill, an ASC scientist.
The construction of a white room at the ASC, located in the arrondissement of Saint-Hubert, in Longueuil, began in January 2025. The sample will be shipped there thanks to a transferred transfer with NASA, said Mr. Hill.
Canada will then become the fifth country in the world to keep samples taken from space. It will receive around 4 % of the 122 grams of dust and pebbles, just under 5 grams.
“This area is very specific due to astral materials and we must comply with many requirements to guarantee the non-contamination of the sample. The objective of these missions is not to modify the material during his stay on earth, “said Mr. Hill, which implies protecting him from water, organic molecules or plastics.
The Osiris-Rex mission, led by NASA, launched Osiris-Rex into space in 2016 to collect materials on the surface of an asteroid that, will allow them to better understand the formation of the solar system.
The probe began to orbit around the asteroid, called Bennu, in 2018, and took a sample in 2020.
She started her return to earth in 2021, and a capsule containing rocks and space dust landed in the UTAH desert in September 2023.
An intact sample
Canada’s contribution to the mission was an altimeter, called Ola, which measures altitude and distance. Bennu was thus the subject of in -depth statements, with billions of asteroid measures taken over a period of two years.
The tool made it possible to determine the best place to take a sample, the probe that landed briefly to take the materials.
The most recent studies have revealed that Bennu formed from a larger parent asteroid, destroyed by a collision in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. This parent asteroid was formed in the external solar system from materials from various places, including beyond our solar system.
It was formed from dust from our solar system and organic matter of the interstellar space. Until now, the analysis of the sample has revealed the presence of stars dust grains whose composition is prior to the solar system, reported Mr. Hill.
“We have many meteorites that provide a lot of information on this type of research, but these missions are interesting, because they allow the sample and report it to be taken. It is therefore not altered by its passage in the atmosphere and the modifications to the surface of the earth, which allows us to observe in detail the intact matter, “he added.
Another study revealed that the asteroid has been radically transformed over time through its interactions with water and its exposure to the rigors of the spatial environment.
