Technologies

NASA Brings Home Asteroid Sample Swiped by Osiris-Rex Spacecraft

A tiny shipment grabbed from a space rock touched down in the Utah desert on Sunday.

For the first time, NASA has returned some dust and other bits of an asteroid collected in space to Earth for study.

Pieces of a large asteroid named Bennu were jarred loose and collected nearly three years ago by NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft, which launched over seven years ago from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

On Sunday morning, the spacecraft released a capsule that landed a little over four hours later, at 9:52 a.m. PT, in the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range. Within 20 minutes, scientists, engineers and military personnel arrived by helicopter to inspect and secure the capsule, which was transported to a nearby cleanroom. It will be moved to Johnson Space Center in Houston on Monday.

«While this may feel like the end of an incredible chapter, it’s truly just the beginning of another,» Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for Osiris-Rex based at the University of Arizona, said in a statement. «We now have the unprecedented opportunity to analyze these samples and delve deeper into the secrets of our solar system.»

In 2020, the van-size spacecraft performed a «touch and go» maneuver — sort of like a chest bump in space — and swiped a few ounces of material from the space rock, which is really a pile of rubble held together by its own gravity. Osiris-Rex lingered around Bennu until 2021, when it started its two-year journey back to Earth.

Graphic showing the route of the asteroid sample from the Osiris-Rex spacecraft to its landing in the Utah desert.

Since launching on Sept. 8, 2016, Osiris-Rex has traveled billions of miles to Bennu and back. It is the first such mission led by NASA. Japan’s space agency sent two spacecraft, named Hayabusa and Hayabusa 2, to collect and deliver samples from asteroids Itokawa and Ryugu, respectively.

In Houston, the sample will undergo preliminary analysis and be unveiled on Oct. 11 in a livestreamed news conference. It’s hoped the sample will provide scientists with a window into the birth of the solar system, including the sun and planets, some 4.5 billion years ago.

As for the main spacecraft, it isn’t done. After sending its treasure to the surface, Osiris-Rex fired its engines to avoid smashing into the atmosphere. It will now continue on to its next target, the asteroid Apophis, under the new moniker Osiris-Apex (Osiris-Apophis Explorer). The vehicle isn’t equipped to collect and deliver another sample, but it may try to blast the asteroid with its gas thrusters in an attempt to dislodge dust and other small bits for study.

Apophis is an important target because it’s considered a potentially hazardous asteroid. While any chance of it impacting Earth in the next century has been ruled out, it will be worth keeping a close eye on for centuries to come.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, Dec. 1

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 1.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Tree that’s a symbol of Canada
Answer: MAPLE

6A clue: Back street
Answer: ALLEY

7A clue: Kind of steak with a letter in its name
Answer: TBONE

8A clue: Beer pong targets
Answer: CUPS

9A clue: «___ Pinafore» (Gilbert and Sullivan opera)
Answer: HMS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Show mutual interest, as on a dating app
Answer: MATCH

2D clue: «Bad» or «Good Kid, M.A.A.D City»
Answer: ALBUM

3D clue: Sits (down) heavily
Answer: PLOPS

4D clue: Contact ___
Answer: LENS

5D clue: Look here!
Answer: EYE

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Dec. 1, #434

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 1, No. 434.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition features one of those classic — and difficult — purple categories. You’ll need to look for words inside of words to get that grouping. (Or just solve the other three, and get purple by default.) If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Maybe on the beach.

Green group hint: Deal me in.

Blue group hint: Not necessarily Jim.

Purple group hint: Look at the final part of the words.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Volleyball terms.

Green group: Poker terms.

Blue group: Jameses.

Purple group: Ends in an NWSL team.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is volleyball terms. The four answers are dig, serve, set and spike.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is poker terms. The four answers are blind, flop, river and turn.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Jameses.The four answers are Cook, Harden, Shields and Worthy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends in an NWSL team.The four answers are balderdash (Houston Dash), concurrent (Kansas City Current), foreign (Seattle Reign) and microwave (San Diego Wave).

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Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 1, #1626

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Dec. 1, No. 1,626.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a little tricky. Many people will confuse it with a similar word that’s spelled differently. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.