Remember those samples from the asteroid that NASA was all excited about getting back to Earth?
Well, there's a been a big problem actually accessing those samples.
The samples were stored in a space jar, and they couldn't get the lid off.
~Insert obligatory "should have asked a man for help" GIF here.~
It turns out that 2 of the 35 clamps sealing the sample had cold-welded themselves together.
NASA had not counted on this eventuality and had no tools available to open the jar. They didn't even try running cold water over it, using a towel, or wrapping rubber bands around the lid.
Apparently all the standard tricks ran the risk of contaminating the samples, so NASA engineers set out to make some new tools made from special non-magnetic stainless steel for the job.
After months of tests, they finally opened the jar. In the end, they managed to salvage 70 grams of material from the asteroid
70 grams?
The program cost tax payers $1.6 billion, and all we got was a lousy 70 grams?
The scientists say it was 10 grams more than they hoped for, so that's something.
Maybe they could give us all an asteroid tax credit thanks to the surplus?
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