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The Queen guitarist and astrophysicist was part of the NASA team that brought samples of the asteroid back to Earth.
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Brian May proves once again why he is rock royalty. He’s not only Queen’s guitarist, but these days he’s also an astrophysicist. NASA returns first-ever asteroid sample To the earth.
May said he was “very proud” to be part of the team that collected samples from the asteroid. Bennu.
“Hello NASA, space fans, and asteroid enthusiasts. As you probably know, this is Brian May from Queen, and I’m very proud to be a team member of Osiris-Rex. ” said the 76-year-old musician. IThis clip aired on NASA TV on Sunday.
The OSIRIS-REX spacecraft passed by Earth on Sunday, seven years after it was launched into space to collect samples from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. Samples were collected from. Asteroid over 4.5 billion years old We depart in 2021 before embarking on our return journey to Earth, specifically Utah, in 2020.
May played an important role in the mission, Create a three-dimensional image The rover’s data allowed mission leader Dante Lauretta and his team to find a safe location to land and collect samples.
In the video, May apologized for not being able to join the team on this important occasion.
“I’m rehearsing for Queen’s tour and my thoughts are with everyone as this precious sample is recovered,” he explained.
“Congratulations on Sample Return Day and congratulations to everyone working incredibly hard on this mission, especially my dear friend Dante.”
“God bless you all,” he added.
After dropping a sample capsule in Utah, OSIRIS-REx continue the journey The space agency said it was to study another asteroid named Apophis.