NASA's seven-year mission to collect asteroid samples is reaching its climax as a space capsule carrying nearly nine ounces of ancient space rocks descends to Earth. The Osiris-Rex spacecraft encountered unexpected challenges due to the asteroid's soft surface, but it successfully collected a sample. This mission holds great scientific significance as these untouched asteroid samples can provide insights into the origins of our solar system. The samples will be meticulously preserved in a sealed container to maintain their pristine condition for further analysis, with some going to Canada, where scientists and students will study them. Notably, Queen's lead guitarist, Brian May, contributed to the mission by helping visualize the asteroid's surface.
Sure, here are the key facts from the provided text:
1. NASA's seven-year mission is coming to an end, and a space capsule carrying asteroid samples is expected to land on Earth soon.
2. The spacecraft, named Osiris-Rex, collected almost nine ounces of space rocks believed to be four and a half billion years old.
3. The mission aimed to collect rocks from the asteroid Bennu.
4. The spacecraft had a challenging task of collecting samples from an unexpected soft and loose asteroid surface.
5. The sample must be kept pristine, so it will be delivered in a sealed container that maintains a vacuum to avoid contamination.
6. The Canadian Space Agency played a significant role in the mission and will receive some of the asteroid rocks.
7. Brian May, the lead guitarist of Queen, who is now a PhD astrophysicist, helped with 3D visualization of the asteroid's surface to select the sample site.
These facts provide an overview of the key details in the text without including opinions.