NASA scientists left scratching their heads after analysing asteroid samples

It has been two and a half months since NASA successfully retrieved samples from asteroid Bennu, and since then, the space agency has been attempting to conduct analysis, but there are a few things getting in its way.

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NASA and almost everyone involved never thought having too many samples of asteroid Bennu would be a problem, but it has. The retrieval mission was a roaring success, and NASA hasn't even accessed the heart of the retrieval canister that is within OSIRIS-REx. The space agency is currently making a new screwdriver that will be used to remove the remaining screws and enable full access to the samples.

While researchers haven't fully dug around in the canister, they have conducted preliminary analysis on rocks caught outside of the canister. The largest so far has been a 3.5-centimeter rock. Scientists discovered that Bennu has an abundance of carbon and water. Additionally, the team found large quantities of magnesium, sodium, and phosphate within the skin of the chunks taken from Bennu.

Reports indicate that this composition isn't particularly common for asteroids, leaving some scientists scratching their heads at the rare makeup of Bennu. So far, researchers have cataloged more than 1,000 Bennu samples, and those are just counting what is more than half a millimeter in size.

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