How Queen's Brian May Got Involved in NASA's Historic Asteroid Sample Return Mission Revealed

NASA officially welcomed back its capsule that collected a sample from an asteroid, and Queen lead guitarist Brian May was part of the mission.

May was studying astrophysics when Queen was formed in 1971, and he was about to finish his thesis but chose to focus on music at that time. Thirty years later, he formally submitted his 48,000-word study to Imperial College and earned a doctorate degree.

Although he remains active in the industry, he also shares his knowledge of science and even became part of NASA's recently wrapped-up mission.

How Brian May Became Part of NASA's Asteroid Sample Return Mission

May appeared on NASA TV on Sunday and revealed he was part of the team that helped in the collection of the sample from asteroid Bennu in October 2020.

CNN confirmed that May is a member of OSIRIS-Rex, the team that created the spacecraft that was part of the mission.

"Hello NASA folks, space fans, asteroid aficionados," the crooner said in the video. "This is Brian May of Queen as you know probably, but also immensely proud to be a team member of OSIRIS-Rex."

May also celebrated the milestone on his website, calling it "the long-awaited day" as the collected sample from Bennu's surface can share the secret of the universe, its origins and more once-unknown details.

According to the news outlet, the 76-year-old "We Will Rock You" writer participated in the mission and assisted the leader, Dante Lauretta, in identifying where to collect the sample through stereoscopic images from OSIRIS-Rex's data.

The musician is an expert in creating 3D images from single camera shots of different angles. With that, his ideas helped the team to find a crater where the spacecraft could land.

He previously participated in other space missions, including ESA's Rosetta and NASA's New Horizons.

What To Know About NASA's 1st Asteroid Sample

May's confirmation came after NASA's OSIRIS-REx officially landed in a targeted area of the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City on Sunday, September 24.

The Bennu sample, which weighs an estimated 250 grans, was then transported to a temporary clean room via a helicopter before relocating to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"These missions prove once again that NASA does big things," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a press release. "Things that inspire us and unite us. Things that show nothing is beyond our reach when we work together."

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Brian May, NASA, Queen