this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2023
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Astronomy
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You seem to be talking out of both sides of your mouth there.
They're dumb because there's red tape, but the red tape is there so they don't accidentally ruin the sample? It's stupid, but it's a good thing?
This is NASA, the smartest people in the world, who just spent a ton of time, money, and resources retrieving a small sample of material. They don't want to fuck it up. The tools have to fit in the container, they have to not contaminate the material, they have to do one job and do it perfectly, and they have one chance at it.
Let them take a minute to think about it, there's no rush here.
But they designed the container.. they decided the environment to open it in.. why haven't they already tried and certified the tools needed to open it? Wasn't that thought of in advance? Or is this just a case of, these tools should work, but for some reason failed? Which is what i'm assuming, since only 2 of the 35 can't be removed, but still.
The article linked here is kind of crappy. It's just a single fact stretched out into a couple of paragraphs with no context. Take a look at these real articles, they show the confined space the scientists and engineers are working in, and why it's so important to take their time doing things right.
https://www.universetoday.com/163636/osiris-rex-returned-carbon-and-water-from-asteroid-bennu/
https://www.space.com/osiris-rex-asteroid-sample-passes-goal
If this was just a regular box, you spray some penetrating oil on it, or you can heat it, or you can crank on the bolt until it breaks, then drill out the remaining parts. But all of those options can ruin the sample inside.
This is a box with unique material, they have one chance to open it, and there is no time limit on opening the box. So they're going to sit down and do some math and figure out the best way to open the box without ruining the contents. They'll get it open, they just really really don't want to fuck it up, cause they don't get a second try at it.
Just grab the old acetylene torch and cut er open.
Meteor shit!