It is amazing that we have the ability to launch a spacecraft that can chase an asteroid millions of miles away, but we lack a wrench here on Earth to open the sample container when some of that asteroid is sent home.
You may remember the problems NASA had last year opening the lid on the sample canister that Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) returned from its encounter with the asteroid Bennu. Well, NASA finally opened up the canister.
NASA stated:
Curation processors paused disassembly of the TAGSAM head hardware in mid-October after they discovered that two of the 35 fasteners could not be removed with the tools approved for use inside the OSIRIS-REx glovebox. In response, two new multi-part tools were designed and fabricated to support further disassembly of the TAGSAM head. These tools include newly custom-fabricated bits made from a specific grade of surgical, non-magnetic stainless steel; the hardest metal approved for use in the pristine curation gloveboxes.
That’s a lengthy way to simply say we found the right tool. Now the rest of the asteroid sample can be cataloged and shared with the scientific community.
I am just glad the capsule did not contain an astronaut.
Our Awesome Universe 