What's next for OSIRIS-REx? | What tests will NASA do on the asteroid sample?

The OSIRIS-REx probe has finished it's 7 billion km journey to the asteroid Bennu and back but safely delivering a sample of the asteroid back to Earth. But what now? What tests are NASA planning to run on the sample? And what are we hoping to learn from it?

00:00 - Introduction
01:33 - OSIRIS-REx mission recap
05:08 - NASA's Sample Analysis Plan
06:55 - Hypothesis 1: Are the ingredients for life present on Bennu?
08:33 - Hypothesis 2: Did asteroids bring water to early-Earth?
10:54 - Hypothesis 3: Is Bennu a "rubble pile" like our planet formation models predict?
13:55 - Bloopers

Video filmed on a Sony ⍺7 IV

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👩🏽‍💻 I'm Dr. Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford (Christ Church). I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don't know. If you've ever wondered about something in space and couldn't find an answer online - you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars.

[TheBookDoctor]

Who *wouldn't* want a whole video on the Yarkovsky effect?

[jennymcelligott]

I'm just fangirling hearing Dr. Becky talk about missions I've been a part of! We (especially at Goddard) worked so freaking hard on this broadcast and all of the animations to go along with it. Thanks for covering it!

[GeographRick]

This is cool. I love that Jaxa, Esa, and NASA share the samples. It's a fantastic collaboration in the pursuit of science.

[bearthompson]

I watched the landing/recovery and am just amazed at the complexity of and detail in all the calculations and planning that goes into these missions. Reminded me of all the steps in the unfolding of JWST that had to go just right. Thanks for the summary of the mission and the teasers for what's ahead with the samples. Another "YES" for for more on the Yarkovsky Effect, please.

[JohnDrewVoice]

Yes, I am interested in learning more about the Yarkovsky Effect. I'm in awe that the Earth acquired its water from external sources, that it has managed to retain its water, and that the Earth has not been rendered uninhabitable by asteroids. While the Earth could be easily made uninhabitable by humans, that it exists at all as a place where carbon-based life flourishes fascinates me.

[Ann-snowshoeingonEnceladus]

Watched the landing live; what a relief when the parachute opened!! The sound of disappointment from the crowd when Genesis crash landed in 2004 was just so sad.
NASA also did a very nice video montage about my home state where both samples landed, so that was pretty cool.

Looking forward to updates around mid-October and yes, a video on the Yarkovsky Effect would be awesome, especially if there's a song in the bloopers. :)

[neoanderson]

I know I've said it before, and I know you have your little studio dedicated to this, but your vids shot in this particular room are always better. Must be the lighting or something. Just feels more welcoming. 🙂
Yes, I saw the footage of it landing actually. Looking forward to the results! 👍

[MarcWeertsMusic]

Sometimes it boggles the mind, the complexity of these missions. Very exciting!

[luckosteve]

You are so skilled at delivering detailed information in a easily understandable manner. Your videos always make me feel interested and engaged, regardless of the topic.

[DenizenoftheAges]

Can we take a moment to acknowledge the greatness of the good Doctor's comfort level in this video? She makes me wanna grab a quick mug of hot chocolate and cozy up with a blanket around me and binge some astronomy vids. 😅

[heatherp]

Learned more from your video than watching 3 hours live when the sample returned. Thank you as always!

[mikepeterson]

I hope this doesn't come off too much as google-eyed fanboying, but I seriously think Becky is turning out to be one of the best science communicators since Tyson -- and minus the frustrating ego. I wouldn't ever ask her to stop doing the actual astrophysics that needs doing, but if I could just dream for a moment, I wouldn't hate it if someone gave her a documentary TV series or something. Maybe a collaboration with Brian Cox? (the physicist one, not the actor one). As the next American presidential election approaches, I'm going to need anything I can get to get me out of bed in the morning, and turning on actual TV isn't going to do it. I'm really glad Becky's here.

[greenchylde]

o-Rex was so exciting! i worked on the parachute!! <3

[ericsbuds]

Thanks for covering the mission Dr Becky 😀

It is so refreshing to listen to someone who actually knows what they are talking about! Keep up the great work.

[michaelsherck]

I was so excited waiting for your report and a great report it is! Your summary is very complete, thank you for taking the time to put this together.

It was also fun to see your fingernails match your tea or coffee mug. You think of everything! 😊

[davidhollis]

It was so nice to see you on the tv the other night talking to Tim Peaks talking about Black holes.

[ianw]

Lest we forget, there has also been a sample return mission to a comet. The Stardust spacecraft sampled dust from the coma of comet Wild-2 in 2004, and returned the samples to Earth in 2006.
Also, the Philae lander, part of the Rosetta mission to comet 67P (2014-2016), was a short lived laboratory on the surface of that comet. And some of the dust ejected from the comet was captured and analysed by the mother craft. Lots of organics. In fact, comets are covered in them.
However, the D/H ratio of the water at that comet, and from most others that have been measured, are quite different from terrestrial values. Hence why it is thought that the bulk of the Earth's water may have come from asteroids. In particular, C- type asteroids, which have similar D/H ratios to Earth.

[sapelesteve]

The OSIRIS-REx mission to the asteroid Bennu and back to Earth is totally mindboggling! Can't wait to see what they find out after analyzing the sample! 👍👍💥💥

[BraddClark-lq]

I’d love to hear more about the Yarkovsky effect. Love the science you bring us.

[LifeProjX]

First time watcher here. I almost clicked away. Thank you so much for being a real science channel. It’s really hard to find real channels and we need more of you. I am aware that I don’t know how to be successful on YouTube, but seeing you… don’t give up. You’re great