NASA is preparing to launch its first mission to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth. The mission will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.
The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification,
Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will travel to the
near-Earth asteroid Bennu and bring a sample back to Earth for intensive study.
Launch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EDT Thursday, Sept. 8 from Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station in Florida.
“This mission exemplifies our nation’s quest to boldly go and
study our solar system and beyond to better understand the universe and our
place in it,” said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for the agency’s
Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “NASA science is the greatest engine
of scientific discovery on the planet and OSIRIS-REx embodies our directorate’s
goal to innovate, explore, discover, and inspire.”
The 4,650-pound (2,110-kilogram) fully-fueled spacecraft will
launch aboard an Atlas V 411 rocket during a 34-day launch period that begins
Sept. 8, and reach its asteroid target in 2018. After a careful survey of Bennu
to characterize the asteroid and locate the most promising sample sites,
OSIRIS-REx will collect between 2 and 70 ounces (about 60 to 2,000 grams) of
surface material with its robotic arm and return the sample to Earth via a
detachable capsule in 2023.
"The launch of OSIRIS-REx is the beginning a seven-year
journey to return pristine samples from asteroid Bennu," said OSIRIS-REx
Principal Investigator Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson.
"The team has built an amazing spacecraft, and we are well-equipped to
investigate Bennu and return with our scientific treasure."
OSIRIS-REx has five instruments to explore Bennu:
·
OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite
(OCAMS) – A system consisting of three cameras provided by the University of
Arizona, Tucson, will observe Bennu and provide global imaging, sample site
imaging, and will witness the sampling event.
·
OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter
(OLA) – A scanning LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) contributed by the
Canadian Space Agency will be used to measure the distance between the
spacecraft and Bennu's surface, and will map the shape of the asteroid.
·
OSIRIS-REx Thermal
Emission Spectrometer (OTES) – An instrument provided by Arizona State
University in Tempe that will investigate mineral abundances and provide
temperature information with observations in the thermal infrared spectrum.
·
OSIRIS-REx Visible and
Infrared Spectrometer (OVIRS) – An instrument provided by NASA’s Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and designed to measure visible and
infrared light from Bennu to identify mineral and organic material.
·
Regolith X-ray Imaging
Spectrometer (REXIS) – A student experiment provided by the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University in Cambridge, which will
observe the X-ray spectrum to identify chemical elements on Bennu’s surface and
their abundances.
Additionally, the spacecraft has two systems that will enable the
sample collection and return:
·
Touch-And-Go Sample
Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) – An articulated robotic arm with a sampler
head, provided by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, to collect a sample
of Bennu's surface.
·
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
Capsule (SRC) – A capsule with a heat shield and parachutes in which the
spacecraft will return the asteroid sample to Earth, provided by Lockheed
Martin.
"Our upcoming launch is the culmination of a tremendous
amount of effort from an extremely dedicated team of scientists, engineers,
technicians, finance and support personnel," said OSIRIS-REx Project
Manager Mike Donnelly at Goddard. "I'm incredibly proud of this team and
look forward to launching the mission's journey to Bennu and back."
Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering,
and safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Lockheed Martin Space Systems
built the spacecraft. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is
the principal investigator. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA's New
Frontiers Program. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama,
manages New Frontiers for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in
Washington.
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