WEBVTT FILE

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OSIRIS-REx continues the amazing legacy
of exploring the solar system

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through sample return.

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We started out with the Apollo missions,
where we had astronauts

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on the surface of the Moon, collecting
a wide range of materials which provided

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unprecedented insights into the formation
of our closest neighbor in space.

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We've seen comet
dust returned from the Stardust mission

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and asteroid particles
returned by two Japanese missions,

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Hayabusa and Hayabusa2,
and OSIRIS-REx goes beyond

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those other missions, especially Stardust
and the Hayabusa programs,

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by bringing back a lot of sample.
We're bringing back, we estimate,

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about 250 grams of material,
about the size of a coffee cup

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full of this precious, pristine,
carbonaceous asteroid

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sample.

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The OSIRIS-REx  spacecraft
is currently on its way

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back to Earth right now.
On September 24th, 2023,

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it will release the sample return capsule

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and that will land in the Utah desert.

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We will go out into the field,
get the sample,

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take some soil samples and air samples
for contamination

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knowledge,
and then bring the sample return capsule

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to a temporary cleanroom
at the Utah Test and Training Range.

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There, we will actually take off the heat

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shield and backshell
and some other components for safety.

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And inside of
that is what we call a sample canister.

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Sample return
capsule is kind of like a nesting doll,

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we have these
multiple layers of protection.

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And then that sample canister

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will have a nitrogen flow
put on it, what we call a nitrogen purge.

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And with that nitrogen purge,
to protect the sample, to keep

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any incursion of terrestrial atmosphere
coming into that canister,

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it will be flown from Utah here
to Houston, Texas.

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The Astromaterials curators at NASA
Johnson are the best in the world.

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They are fantastic at preserving material.

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The samples will be in a special custom-
built cleanroom.

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The samples themselves will be inside of a
of a nitrogen filled glovebox, and

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then inside of that, they'll be stored
in separate containers for allocation.

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The first samples will come out
for the science team to

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describe what we've seen and produce
a catalog within six months

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so that researchers around the world
can write their own proposals

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to request sample.

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Oh, I am going

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to be so excited to see that sample

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and see how much we actually brought back
from asteroid Bennu.

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It's been a really exciting journey
from launch

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back to sample return.

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That's a seven year journey,
seven year process, and at that time

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I will have been on the mission
for about seven years.

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And so it's going to be
a wonderful culmination

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to this adventure of OSIRIS-REx.

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I joined OSIRIS-REx  and became
part of the mission about three years ago.

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It's been really incredible for me
because I watched this

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mission launch on my cell phone
when I was a postdoc.

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I heard about it
get selected before I applied for my Ph.D.

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program, and I remember thinking like, oh,

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you know, 12 years
it's going to come back.

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I wonder where I'll be?

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And it's so amazing to be here
and be part of it, playing

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what feels like to me a very important
role in it is really incredible.

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I've been waiting

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since 2004 for an asteroid sample return
mission.

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It's been the majority of my career
getting ready for sample return.

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In some ways,
a blink of an eye since launch happened.

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In other ways, it's been a very long time
waiting for this

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precious sample to come back.

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It's going to be an emotional, joyous,
gut-wrenching event all at the same time.

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I can't wait.

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[Music]

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[Music fades]