A peek into the stars: NASA opens asteroid Bennu sample capsule

The sample from Bennu arrived on Earth in October. It was kept safe from human interference in the laboratory for five months, and the complex process of safely disassembling the probe head began.

The process hit a snag with two of the 35 connectors meant to safeguard the material during its journey to Earth. These proved to be resistant to human handling. NASA technicians eventually breached them only using specially designed tools. From this point, the disassembly of the capsule accelerated. On Friday, January 19, NASA announced the full disassembly of the probe head from the OSIRIS-REx mission.

The main tank storing the sample is now visible. Although NASA technicians don't expect any further issues, there is still much work to be done.

Before they can extract the astromaterial, technicians need to remove the metal collar surrounding the canister that holds the probe. Once done, they'll prepare the glove box with sample trays and position the material on them. Then, the first inspection of fragments from the asteroid Bennu, delivered to Earth, can commence.

At this point, a process of photographing and weighing the material will be undertaken. So far, about 2.48 ounces of asteroid material from the resistant surface of the capsule have been collected. How much dust and rocks are contained within the main probe chamber will be understood in the upcoming weeks.

By this spring, NASA hopes to complete the inventory of Bennu asteroid samples. These will be stored at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Nonetheless, any scientific institution worldwide will have the option to request a sample for research or a demonstration.