An artist's impression of Nasa’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect debris from its surface. AFP
An artist's impression of Nasa’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect debris from its surface. AFP
An artist's impression of Nasa’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect debris from its surface. AFP
An artist's impression of Nasa’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect debris from its surface. AFP

Nasa's Osiris-Rex probe successfully touches asteroid to bring back surface dust


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In a daring mission, a Nasa spacecraft has successfully landed on an asteroid to bring rock and dust from its surface back to Earth.

Just after 3am UAE time on Wednesday, Nasa’s Osiris-Rex probe skimmed over the surface of a small asteroid orbiting 330 million kilometres away from Earth.

Mission controllers hope the spacecraft has grabbed up to a kilogram of rock and dust from its surface - the largest sample ever brought back from another world so far from Earth.

The probe is now preparing to head back to Earth, dropping off its cargo for study in 2023.

In December 2019, the Osiris-Rex team announced the chosen landing site, which they called Nightingale.

But the site was only the size of a tennis court and at its edge was a boulder as big as a two-story building. The researchers called this boulder, Mount Doom - which the probe successfully dodged during its descent.

Why the interest in asteroids?

First discovered around 200 years ago, asteroids are the rocky debris left over from the formation of the solar system around 4.5 billion years ago.

While some are hundreds of kilometres across, most are much smaller and have remained largely unchanged since their formation – making them of intense scientific interest.

But asteroids are increasingly attracting attention for two other reasons: as a source of valuable metals including gold, and the threat they pose by colliding with the Earth. The Osiris-Rex mission is expected to cast light on all these issues.

What is Osiris-Rex?

Roughly the size of a van, Osiris-Rex was launched from Cape Canaveral in September 2016 on a two-year flight to a 500m-wide asteroid named Bennu.

Discovered in 1999, Bennu was chosen as it shows signs of being made of virtually pristine primordial material dating back billions of years.

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But Bennu is also on a path that could lead to a collision with the Earth around 150 years from now with the violence of a thousand thermonuclear weapons.

Since arriving at the asteroid in 2018, Osiris-Rex has been scanning the object to determine its shape, size and composition to better understand both its origin and the threat it poses to our planet.

But its principal goal is to grab and return a sample of the asteroid to Earth for detailed study.

How will Osiris-Rex get the sample back?

The probe used a 3.3metre-long sampling arm extended beneath it, fitted with a nozzle designed to blow fragments of rock off the surface and into on board traps.

Called the Touch-And-Go Sampler (Tagsam), it was designed by an engineer at Lockheed Martin using a plastic cup and air compressor, and was first tested on a gravel driveway.

The device may have retrieved as much as a kilogram of debris. That would be the biggest sample of another world retrieved since the Apollo moon missions half a century ago - and the most ever from so far away.

While a Japanese probe is already heading back to earth with a sample of another asteroid, it retrieved just one tenth of a gram of material.

How tricky was it?

It was far trickier than anyone expected.

Before the mission set off, earth-bound studies of Bennu suggested its surface was relatively smooth and sandy.

But as Osiris-Rex approached the asteroid, its cameras revealed the surface to be far more rugged.

With the probe designed to orbit just 1km above the surface and then dip down to just a few metres to grab the sample, the discovery shocked mission designers.

They spent months mapping out the surface in meticulous detail, looking for sites that would pose the least threat to the probe as retrieved its sample.

The chosen site was a crater containing debris small enough for Tagsam to cope with.

But Osiris-Rex had to achieve its mission - including dodging Mount Doom - with no help from Earth.

The probe is so far away that any radio commands take 18 minutes to be received – far too long to avert disaster.

It did have the ability to abort the landing if it looked too dangerous.

What happens next?

Osiris-Rex will weigh and stow the sample in a capsule which it will release when near the Earth again in September 2023.

After re-entry, the capsule will land in the Utah desert and its contents will be taken off for detailed study.

But tests aboard Osiris-Rex are expected to reveal how much material it has grabbed within the next few days.

Images of Mars

Retail gloom

Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.

It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.

The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Transmission: ten-speed

Power: 420bhp

Torque: 624Nm

Price: Dh325,125

On sale: Now

6 UNDERGROUND

Director: Michael Bay

Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco

2.5 / 5 stars

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Gulf rugby

Who’s won what so far in 2018/19

Western Clubs Champions League: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Dubai Hurricanes
West Asia Premiership: Bahrain

What’s left

UAE Conference

March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Hurricanes II v Al Ain Amblers, Jebel Ali Dragons II v Dubai Tigers

March 29, final

UAE Premiership

March 22, play-offs: 
Dubai Exiles v Jebel Ali Dragons, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Hurricanes

March 29, final

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.0-litre%2C%20flat%20six-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseven-speed%20PDK%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E510hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E470Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh634%2C200%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Race card

6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) US$100,000 (Dirt) 2,000m

7.05pm: Meydan Classic Listed (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,600m

7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m

8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,600m

8.50pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 2 (TB) $300,000 (T) 2,810m

9.25pm: Curlin Stakes Listed (TB) $175,000 (D) 2,000m

10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m

10.35pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m

The National selections

6.30pm: Shahm, 7.05pm: Well Of Wisdom, 7.40pm: Lucius Tiberius, 8.15pm: Captain Von Trapp, 8.50pm: Secret Advisor, 9.25pm: George Villiers, 10pm: American Graffiti, 10.35pm: On The Warpath

Long read

Mageed Yahia, director of WFP in UAE: Coronavirus knows no borders, and neither should the response

if you go

The flights

Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return. 

The trek

Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required. 

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The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Company%20Profile
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick

Hometown: Cologne, Germany

Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)

Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes

Favourite hobby: Football

Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk

TOUCH RULES

Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.

Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.

Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.

A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.

After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.

At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.

A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.