NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission prepares for landing on an asteroid

The samples from Bennu could support authorities comprehend not only far much more about asteroids that could have an effect on Earth but also about how planets shaped and lifestyle started out.

Region tag

On Tuesday, the spacecraft worked by means of its TAG, or Contact-and-Go sequence, which is how it will accumulate samples from the asteroid.

This rehearsal took about 4 many hours to full as it labored by means of 3 of the four maneuvers that will be needed to receive a sample.

Correctly, the spacecraft experienced to conduct burns, or fire its thrusters, to get closer to the area of the asteroid’s spot — leaving its orbit .6 miles absent from the asteroid.

Then, it executed a “Checkpoint” burn up off at 410 ft away. All through this maneuver, OSIRIS-Rex can autonomously test its condition and velocity to see if it demands to make any variations prior to it moves closer to the asteroid.

OSIRIS-REx then reached its “Matchpoint” burn up, the place the spacecraft matches the asteroid’s rotation so it can fly previously mentioned the sample world-wide-web-web-site.

This set the spacecraft nearer than it has ever been to the asteroid’s space, at 131 toes away. All via this near arrive upon, OSIRIS-REx unfolded its Get in touch with-and-Go-Sample Acquisition Mechanism, or sampling arm to check it in the configuration it will use in October.

Gadgets on the spacecraft also took much a lot more observations for science and navigation purposes, which is also element of the sample assortment system. The new significant-resolution shots these products acquired will assistance the spacecraft’s All-purely natural Factor Tracking steering method goal the compact sample range net web page.

This guidance approach permits OSIRIS-REx to use its on-board hazard map and steer crystal clear of locations that could bring about damage to the spacecraft. The organized trajectory to get to and sample the Nightingale web site demonstrates that a protected landing will be doable in Oct.

Presented the distance of the spacecraft from Earth, it usually takes about 16 minutes for a sign despatched from Earth to access OSIRIS-REx. So commands will be despatched in advance of time to the spacecraft, as appropriately as a command to start this sequence, in Oct. The team examined this ability for the duration of the rehearsal.

The mission workforce also utilized this rehearsal as an prospect to make optimistic the spacecraft’s methods have been doing work generally.

“Lots of significant strategies had been being exercised during this rehearsal — from communications, spacecraft thrusters, and most importantly, the onboard Pure Component Monitoring steering method and hazard map,” described OSIRIS-REx principal investigator Dante Lauretta, a professor of planetary science and cosmochemistry at the College of Arizona, in a assertion.

“Now that we have concluded this milestone, we are certain in finalizing the procedures for the TAG celebration. This rehearsal verified that the crew and all of the spacecraft’s techniques are all set to accumulate a sample in Oct.”

When a terrific offer of the workers worked remotely, a minimal amount of money of dollars of group customers have been currently being on-website at Lockheed Martin’s Area facility, NASA’s Goddard House Flight Centre and the University of Arizona and working toward health and essential safety safeguards amid the ongoing pandemic.

In October, the spacecraft will really get there at the asteroid’s location and use its sampling arm to get hold of down for 5 seconds. It will launch a pressurized desire of nitrogen to disturb the area of the asteroid and get samples from that product or service. Then, it will again absent and return the samples to Earth on September 24, 2023.

What we know so substantially

Given that arriving at Bennu in 2018, OSIRIS-REx has uncovered intriguing information about the asteroid.

The mission — which stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Supply Identification, Protection-Regolith Explorer — released in September 2016.

Bennu is coated in boulders alternatively than the significant parts of fine-grain product that specialists predicted.

Bennu is the smallest body to at any time be orbited by a spacecraft, just a insignificant bit broader than the top rated of the Empire Stage out Generating, according to NASA. Bennu has a shape similar to that of a spinning top rated rated, and it actually is a “rubble pile” asteroid, which is a grouping of rocks held together by gravity rather than a solitary item.

OSIRIS-REx’s devices have confirmed that hydrated minerals, these types of as magnetite, are plentiful and common on the asteroid. The asteroid is whole of important products and solutions that could even comprise clues about how everyday life started. Bennu is basically a leftover from the formation of our solar procedure billions of lots of a long time back.

Bennu in all likelihood originated in the most important asteroid belt, having harmed off of a additional substantial asteroid in the belt amid Mars and Jupiter a couple of billion a long time back. This knocked it as a consequence of place till an orbit in the vicinity of to Earth locked it in position.