NASA s OSIRIS-REx Mission Plans for May Asteroid Departure
On May 10, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will say farewell to asteroid Bennu and begin its journey back to Earth. During its Oct. 20, 2020, sample collection event, the spacecraft collected a substantial amount of material from Bennu’s surface, likely exceeding the mission’s requirement of 2 ounces (60 grams). The spacecraft is scheduled to deliver the sample to Earth on Sep. 24, 2023.
“Leaving Bennu’s vicinity in May puts us in the ‘sweet spot,’ when the departure maneuver will consume the least amount of the spacecraft’s onboard fuel,” said Michael Moreau, OSIRIS-REx deputy project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Nevertheless, with over 593 miles per hour (265 meters per second) of velocity change, this will be the largest propulsive maneuver conducted by OSIRIS-REx since the
NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
On May 10, NASA s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will say farewell to asteroid Bennu and begin its two-year journey back to Earth, where the dust and rocks collected during the Touch-And-Go maneuver in October will be studied by scientists, including OSIRIS-REx mission principal investigator and University of Arizona planetary scientist
Dante Lauretta.
During its Oct. 20, 2020, sample collection event, the spacecraft collected a substantial amount of material from Bennu s surface, likely exceeding the mission s requirement of 2 ounces, or 60 grams. The spacecraft is scheduled to deliver the sample to Earth on Sep. 24, 2023 in the Utah desert.
The May departure date allows the spacecraft to consume the least amount of fuel and also provides the OSIRIS-REx team with the opportunity to plan a final spacecraft flyby of Bennu. This activity was not on the original mission schedule, but the team is studying the feasibility of a final observation run of the
osiris-rex departure.png
This illustration shows the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft departing asteroid Bennu to begin its two-year journey back to Earth.
Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
On May 10, NASAs Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will say farewell to asteroid Bennu and begin its journey back to Earth. During its Oct. 20, 2020, sample collection event, the spacecraft collected a substantial amount of material from Bennus surface, likely exceeding the missions requirement of 2 ounces (60 grams). The spacecraft is scheduled to deliver the sample to Earth on Sep. 24, 2023.
Leaving Bennus vicinity in May puts us in the sweet spot, when the departure maneuver will consume the least amount of the spacecrafts onboard fuel, said Michael Moreau, OSIRIS-REx deputy project manager at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Nevertheless, with over 593 miles per hour (265 meters per second)
INFRARED sensors made in Southampton are travelling through deep space on a mission to learn more about a potentially hazardous asteroid heading for Earth. The asteroid Bennu has a one in 3,000 chance – considered “relatively high” – of hitting Earth in the late 22nd century. Present day scientists want to do all they can for future generations by understanding the physical and chemical properties of the asteroid, which was formed some two billion years ago. The infrared detectors for the mission were made by the Southampton factory of aerospace engineering company Leonardo. The sensors were picked by Arizona State University (ASU) for its OSIRIS-REx Thermal Emission Spectrometer (OTES) instrument, which has been vital to the mission.