NGL, I've given up on projects when I can't get a fastener undone.
I'm glad they stuck with it.
Obviously NASA engineers don't ever go to Youtube, I'm sure looking up "asteroid sampler stuck" there would have been a number of hack DIYers who showed a variety of techniques they've used.
Missed opportunity for a NASA first time unboxing video.
Boeing technicians: "Amateurs!"
woah too soon man, too soon
naw, just perfect!!!
Breaking News you say
I think they removed the fasteners without breaking anything.
Getting a stripped screw or bolt to come out is one thing.
Getting one out without contaminating everything around it is another.
I really want to see the tool they developed to do this.
Edit: This NASA blog page has some images and more details of the tools themselves
Are those... Philips screws? Looks like maybe two dots indicating JIS (shallower angle, less cam-out, and #1 cause of stripped screws on Japanese motorcycles) but I'd really like to know why a hex or torx screw wasn't used
I was curious about that too. They look like Torq-set to me, being that the slots are offset from the center of the screw. If that's the case they're shouldn't be any cam out at all.
In either case the fasteners that were stuck appear to be Hex head, and the phillips looking fasteners just held a protective cover in place (?)
I would imagine NASA would know better than to use Philips for anything lol.
By the way there is a link on the page to more images of the assembly
This canister opening has to be conducted under the most pristine conditions to not contaminate the sample, so this was quite the issue.
Since they couldn't just take a circular saw and cut through it
And here I was going to suggest some WD-40 or a blow torch could help.
Rehearsal Lab. Only NASA things.