Certainly taking this to the next level as compared with the NEAR (Nasa Probe) that was not designed to bring back material.
While this is an improvement, it still only scratches the surface as it will only bring back "up to one gram of material". Also, consider that the gram of material is from the very surface of the asteroid, which is most likely contaminated by other collisions. Still quite an accomplishment if they can recover the material in 2007 as predicted.
Slashdot Mirror
Certainly taking this to the next level as compared with the NEAR (Nasa Probe) that was not designed to bring back material.
While this is an improvement, it still only scratches the surface as it will only bring back "up to one gram of material". Also, consider that the gram of material is from the very surface of the asteroid, which is most likely contaminated by other collisions. Still quite an accomplishment if they can recover the material in 2007 as predicted.