NASA's OSIRIS REx Mission Ends Up With More Than It Expected

NASA's OSIRIS REx spacecraft was supposed to grab a sample of the asteroid Bennu so that it could be returned to Earth for analysis. The spacecraft grabbed the sample on Tuesday, but, it's taken a few days to actually get photos of the tool and now it's realized they have a problem with too much material. Larger pieces of regolith have kept the sample head from closing properly, so material is slowly being lost.
As a result, the mission operators are skipping past a number of important tests and going straight to storing the sample for return to avoid losing more.

[kerbonaut]

'Hey, can I have a sample?'
'Only a spoonful'
*pulls out comically large sample probe*

[shaileshkris]

Osiris Rex: I promise Bennu, just the tip.
Bennu: Okay, but... just the tip.

Scott Manley: They reckon they might have gone half a meter inside this asteroid!

[craigmooring]

The "Touch And Go" maneuver was acronymized as a TAG, so does that mean now Bennu is "it"?

[laurachapple]

'NASA Accidentally Collects Too Many Rocks' may be the best news of 2020.

[paulrautenbach]

I was so hoping the bolder next to the "landing" site would be called Bennu Hill rather than Mount Doom.

[SolarGranulation]

Seldom has the maxim "less haste, more speed" seemed so applicable.

[km]

that probe is so greedy. maybe it was too excited after the long journey

[gonun]

Bennu: Why all those troubles to get some samples from me? I'll just come to you.

[Offer]

Sent this to my grandpa, he has show me all about space through my whole life, i'm 33 and he is 94, he was stoked to hear about this video so i had to send it to him. And yes he is healthy as ever, good genes 👍

[noteda]

Bennu hitting Earth 3 million years later: Someone asked for a sample?

[vonschlesien]

Interestingly, getting material from half a meter down means it's even *more* pristine - hasn't been exposed to either radiation or the solar wind.

[SlideRulePirate]

"Blowing a raspberry"...?
If care in needed to target a location between boulders then technically it's more like 'Motorboating'.

[AsbestosMuffins]

Everyone whos vacuumed popcorn up and clogged their vacuum understands what has happened here

[mikec]

Thank you Scott, this is soo much more satisfying to watch than the 'news' .

[havetacitblue]

Scott, you’ve put out so much excellent info-packed content over the years, but this debrief on Osiris REX goes above and beyond in terms of timeliness and providing answers. Thank you!

[TheAziz]

"how to do this quickly and slowly"
Every time I try to land on the dark side of the Mun but realize that I forgot those goddamn batteries

[fridaycaliforniaa]

Stupid question : What happens if the sample return capsule has 1 kg of material instead of 60 grams ? Will it work correctly during reentry with all that added weight ?

[wesleybantugan]

The TAG mission was amazing. I’ve been following this mission and the Japanese one and it’s truly incredible. Amazing work to the teams of both mission and god speed for the missions return!

[themoonissquare]

0:27 "blowing a raspberry on the belly of a 4.5 billion year old asteroid" is still pretty unprofessional, "farting in it's face and running away" is the official term real rocket scientists use.

[jacob_s]

I really feel like NASA needs to make a youtube series on how they design and tested space craft like this. The engineering is just so damn cool.