NASA Successfully Opens Container of Asteroid Sample from Bennu

The sample, collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission, is believed to contain early precursors to life and will undergo further analysis.

NASA has successfully opened a container of asteroid sample material from Bennu, after two fasteners had been stuck for about 3.5 months.
The sample was collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission, the first U.S. mission to retrieve a sample of an asteroid and return it to Earth.
The sample is believed to contain some of the earliest precursors to life, including a high abundance of carbon and water-bearing clay minerals.
The sample was initially inaccessible due to two of the 35 fasteners on the container being too difficult to open with pre-approved methods, necessitating the development of new tools.
The sample will now undergo further analysis, with a catalog of the OSIRIS-REx samples scheduled to be released to the global scientific community in the spring.