NASA needed help with a mission. The Vatican came to the rescue.

Brother Robert J. Macke is curator of the Vatican 's meteorite collection.

He has designed a custom device that will fit inside the glovebox where scientists will handle the sample.

OSIRIS-Rex will drop the sample 63,000 miles above Earth on Sept. 24 .

Macke: "I see no conflict between faith and science".

NASA 's curation team set stringent rules about what could go inside the glovebox.

Only about 15 materials were approved, such as stainless steel, aluminum, and glass.

NASA paid for the parts to make the pycnometer, amounting to about the same cost as an off-the-shelf instrument.