OSIRIS-REx Returned a Pristine Sample of Asteroid Bennu: Takeaways from the Mission's Contamination Control and Knowledge Program

@misc{dworkin2026osirisrex,
  title = {{OSIRIS-REx Returned a Pristine Sample of Asteroid Bennu: Takeaways from the Mission's Contamination Control and Knowledge Program}},
  author = {Jason P. Dworkin and Scott A. Sandford and Nicole G. Lunning and Kevin Righter and Charles C. Lorentson and Daniel P. Glavin and Kathie L. Thomas-Keprta and Loan Le and Catherine M. Corrigan and Timothy J. McCoy and Edward B. Bierhaus and Jose C. Aponte and Angel Mojarro and Hannah L. McLain and Eric T. Parker and Denise K. Buckner and Frédéric Seguin and Radford L. Perry and Heather V. Graham and Havishk Tripathi and Pierre Haenecour and Piers Koefoed and Kun Wang and Cody Schultz and Takahiro Hiroi and Ralph E. Milliken and Simon J. Clemett and Bumsoo Kim and Christopher J. Snead and Eve L. Berger and Michael Liss and Jessica J. Barnes and Sandra Freund and Zoe A. Wilson and Ryan D. Dubisher and Natasha V. Almeida and Kimberly K. Allums and Erika H. Blumenfeld and Joseph E. Aebersold and Rachel C. Funk and Carla P. Gonzales and Julia L. Plummer and Maritza Montoya and Daniel J. Rohmer and Erika V. Rivera and Jannatul Ferdous and Gabriel C. Garcia and Melissa Rodriguez and Jose L. Ponce and Ronald Bastien and Wayland D. Connelly and Jemma Davidson and Marghaleray Amini and Vivian Lai and Dominique Weis and Josh Wimpenny and Jan Render and Gregory A. Brennecka and Yoshihiro Furukawa and Toshiki Koga},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.12249},
  eprint = {2609.12249},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.12249},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - OSIRIS-REx Returned a Pristine Sample of Asteroid Bennu: Takeaways from the Mission's Contamination Control and Knowledge Program
AU  - Jason P. Dworkin
AU  - Scott A. Sandford
AU  - Nicole G. Lunning
AU  - Kevin Righter
AU  - Charles C. Lorentson
AU  - Daniel P. Glavin
AU  - Kathie L. Thomas-Keprta
AU  - Loan Le
AU  - Catherine M. Corrigan
AU  - Timothy J. McCoy
AU  - Edward B. Bierhaus
AU  - Jose C. Aponte
AU  - Angel Mojarro
AU  - Hannah L. McLain
AU  - Eric T. Parker
AU  - Denise K. Buckner
AU  - Frédéric Seguin
AU  - Radford L. Perry
AU  - Heather V. Graham
AU  - Havishk Tripathi
AU  - Pierre Haenecour
AU  - Piers Koefoed
AU  - Kun Wang
AU  - Cody Schultz
AU  - Takahiro Hiroi
AU  - Ralph E. Milliken
AU  - Simon J. Clemett
AU  - Bumsoo Kim
AU  - Christopher J. Snead
AU  - Eve L. Berger
AU  - Michael Liss
AU  - Jessica J. Barnes
AU  - Sandra Freund
AU  - Zoe A. Wilson
AU  - Ryan D. Dubisher
AU  - Natasha V. Almeida
AU  - Kimberly K. Allums
AU  - Erika H. Blumenfeld
AU  - Joseph E. Aebersold
AU  - Rachel C. Funk
AU  - Carla P. Gonzales
AU  - Julia L. Plummer
AU  - Maritza Montoya
AU  - Daniel J. Rohmer
AU  - Erika V. Rivera
AU  - Jannatul Ferdous
AU  - Gabriel C. Garcia
AU  - Melissa Rodriguez
AU  - Jose L. Ponce
AU  - Ronald Bastien
AU  - Wayland D. Connelly
AU  - Jemma Davidson
AU  - Marghaleray Amini
AU  - Vivian Lai
AU  - Dominique Weis
AU  - Josh Wimpenny
AU  - Jan Render
AU  - Gregory A. Brennecka
AU  - Yoshihiro Furukawa
AU  - Toshiki Koga
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/10
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.12249
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.12249
AB  - NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission had the objective of delivering a pristine sample from asteroid (101955) Bennu to Earth for scientific analysis--where "pristine" signifies the absence of foreign materials that could affect sample measurements. OSIRIS-REx returned 121.6 g of regolith in September 2023; this study documents the systematic investigation of suspected contaminants encountered during the mission's sample analysis phase. Most suspected contaminants did not originate from the spacecraft or sample curation. Some were introduced during laboratory analyses, reinforcing the importance of procedural blanks and a strategic approach to sharing samples across laboratories with different analytical targets. Several suspected contaminants, such as phosphate and sodium fluoride particles, were ultimately identified as indigenous to Bennu, highlighting the critical role of contamination knowledge in preventing the dismissal of valuable scientific data. We find that the returned sample meets the definition of pristine, except for an isolated 1.24% (by mass) that escaped the sample container and was thereby contaminated with spacecraft particulates. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of systematically applied contamination science and engineering practices and provide lessons and approaches to help maximize the scientific integrity of future planetary sample return missions.
ER  -