The moment the probe touches down an asteroid

NASA released 82 photos when the asteroid probe OSIRIS-REx landed on the asteroid Benu and sampled the surface.

The image can be viewed as a video taken continuously in the form of a time lapse of a picture centering on the sample collection system TAGSAM equipped by Osiris-Rex. This can be seen as the probe slowly approaches the asteroid and ejects gas immediately after a touchdown, causing it to fly off the surface soil and rocks.

The asteroid Benu is a near-earth asteroid with an average diameter of 560m. It is estimated that a celestial body with a diameter of about 100 km, which was born with the formation of the solar system, caused a large-scale collision that occurred about 1 billion years ago and spattered. Carbonate veins, which are traces of water streams inside the celestial body, are found before being destroyed on this surface. It is said that the surface of the benu is also rich in organic matter including carbon.

If a sample return capsule parachute is successful on the return of Osiris-Rex in 2023, the sand and stones inside may reveal something about the origin of life. Related information can be found here .