Brian May , Queen and astrophysicist, participated in a NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) mission that helped bring an asteroid back to Earth.
“Hey NASA folks, space fans, asteroid enthusiasts. This is Brian May from Queen, as you already know, but I’m also incredibly proud to be a member of OSIRIS-REx,” May shared in a video on NASA-TV.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft sailed on Sunday, seven years after being launched to collect samples from the asteroid Bennu, which is more than 4.5 billion years old. The mission reportedly collected about 250g of rocks and dust before the sample was returned to Earth to land in the Utah desert.
May, who is an expert in stereoscopy (using multiple images to complete 3D mapping), used her skills to help create stereoscopic images that allowed mission leader Dante Lauretta and his team to locate a safe landing site from which they could collect the samples without any damage.
“I always say you need art in addition to science,” May told the BBC. “It’s like an artistic thing. You need to feel the ground to know if the spacecraft is likely to crash or if it’s going to hit that ‘rock of destruction’ that was right on the edge of the eventual chosen site, called Nightingale. If that had happened, it would have been disastrous. There was a billion dollars of American taxpayers’ money at stake.”
The guitarist posted about the event on Sunday, the 24th, noting: “A historic event today – the landing of the capsule containing the rock sample from the asteroid Bennu – in the Utah desert! We’re rehearsing a show at Wimbledon!!! But we can all share this moment by watching it on NASA TV. Fingers crossed for a safe landing – but these guys really don’t need luck – it will be a perfect maneuver like all their adventures collecting the sample – adventures I was proud to be a part of. Go OSIRIS-REx!!!”
The samples will likely provide information about the formation of the solar system and possibly about how life began on Earth years ago. The Department of Defense confirmed that the landing occurred at 8:52 a.m. local time.
Brian May will return to the stage with Queen and Adam Lambert in October for a series of shows in North America between October and November.
