Brian May proved once again why he is rock royalty. Not only is he the guitarist for Queen, but he’s also an astrophysicist who recently helped NASA bring its first asteroid sample to Earth.
May said he was “immensely proud” to be part of the team that collected the sample from the asteroid Bennu.
“Hello, NASA people, space fans, asteroid aficionados. This is Brian May from Queen, as you probably know, but I’m also immensely proud to be a member of the OSIRIS-REx team,” said the 76-year-old musician in a video broadcast on NASA TV on Sunday (24).
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 called Bennu. It collected the sample from the asteroid that is more than 4.5 billion years old in 2020, before setting off on its return journey to Earth, specifically to Utah, in the USA, in 2021.
May played a crucial role in the mission, creating stereoscopic images from the probe’s data that allowed mission leader Dante Lauretta and the team to locate a safe place to land and collect a sample.
In the clip, May apologized for not being with the team on that important occasion.
“I’m rehearsing for a Queen tour, but my heart goes out to you as this precious specimen is recovered,” he explained.
“Happy sample return day and congratulations to everyone working hard on this mission, especially my dear friend Dante.”
“God bless everyone,” he added.
After leaving the sample capsule in Utah, OSIRIS-REx continues its travels to study a different asteroid called Apophis, the space agency said.
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Source: CNN Brasil
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