It all seems rather obvious and easy.

Returning natural samples to Earth for analysis is fundamentally important to the goal of using the resources of space to improve the Human condition on Earth.

Returning beneficial products that can only be manufactured off-Earth is fundamentally important to improving the Human condition on Earth.

However, as with many other potentially civilization-changing beneficial programs that seem so easy and obvious, much of the actual time is spent on the most mundane parts of the processes. Often repeatedly.

—

OSIRIS-REx update:

“After multiple attempts at removal, the team discovered two of the 35 fasteners on the TAGSAM head could not be removed with the current tools approved for use in the OSIRIS-REx glovebox. The team has been working to develop and implement new approaches to extract the material inside the head, while continuing to keep the sample safe and pristine.”

https://blogs.nasa.gov/osiris-rex/2023/10/20/nasas-osiris-rex-achieves-sample-mass-milestone

—

Varda Space update:

“”There was no single specific issue that held up the reentry, he said. “It was ultimately a coordination problem amongst three different groups that had not worked through this operation before.” He added that there were no safety concerns with Varda’s spacecraft or its ability to meet requirements for an FAA license.

“An additional challenge is that Varda is the first company to seek an FAA reentry license through a new set of regulations called Part 450. Those regulations are intended to streamline the process but, on the launch side, have been criticized by companies for being difficult.””

https://spacenews.com/varda-partners-with-australian-range-for-capsule-landings/

—

From the Oxford Languages definition of Mundane: ‘of this earthly world rather than a heavenly one’

A friend read the above and said “that’s depressing.” So, even more, this should show that there are real Opportunities in “space” business. In most every industry the big pay doesn’t come from where everyone else is working on the same cool front-end thing, but from the quieter back-end where fewer people are working and where any tangible improvement at all actually can have the biggest ramifications.

Spot a problem. Pull it apart. Find any bottleneck. Test a fix. If it works, someone will say so. Ask them to give you a short quick written credit at that moment. Put that in your portfolio. Spot a problem… Change the world, or even more.