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After removing all 14 plates and collecting any remaining loose dust, the team removed the TAGSAM head from its avionics deck platform and had the first opportunity to view the 24 surface contact pads on the bottom of the head and the asteroid sample beneath the collector head. This artist’s concept shows the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft contacting the asteroid Bennu with the Touch-And-Go Sample Arm Mechanism or TAGSAM. The mission successfully returned a sample of Bennu’s surface coating to Earth for study. Credit: NASAin October 2020, these surface contact pads trapped fine-grained asteroid rocks and dust directly from Bennu’s surface layer.
The asteroid material on and interior to the capture ring — the secure base into which the TAGSAM was seated when stowed — came from the sample collection event. During collection, TAGSAM shot nitrogen gas at Bennu to push asteroid particles from as deep as 19 inches below the surface into the TAGSAM head, which sealed with a flap. If collected particles held that flap open, they would fall out into the area interior to the capture ring.
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