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NASA Shares Stunning Pic Of Asteroid Bennu As OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Heads Back To Earth
US space agency NASA has shared a stunning image of a 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu. The image of the asteroid was captured by the Osiris Rex spacecraft.
(Image Credits: NASASolarSystem/Instagram)
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has shared a stunning image of a 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu. The image of the asteroid was captured by the Osiris Rex spacecraft. The OSIRIS-Rex mission is on its way back to Earth after nearly five years with a sample of rocks and dust from the ancient cosmic object. The picture of the asteroid has grabbed the attention of netizens and they expressed their views in the comments section.
Mission:
RED FLAG is a contested combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies. It is coordinated at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and conducted on the vast bombing and gunnery ranges of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). It is one of a series of advanced training programs administered by the United States Air Force Warfare Center and Nellis Air Force Base.
Background:
RED FLAG was established in 1975 as the brain child of Lt. Col. Richard “Moody” Suter and one of the initiatives directed by General Robert J. Dixon, then commander of Tactical Air Command, to better prepare our forces for combat. Lessons from Vietnam showed that if a pilot survived his first 10 combat missions, his probability of survival for remaining missions increased substantially. Red Flag was designed to expose each “Blue 4” pilot to his first 10 “combat missions” here at Nellis, allowing him to be more confident and effective in actual combat. Th
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Is Racing Back to Earth With a Scoop of Asteroid
Illustration: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
OSIRIS-REx, a NASA spacecraft tasked with collecting rocks and dust from a nearby asteroid named Bennu, is coming back home after almost five years away. The spacecraft, officially named Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer, officially fired its engines to begin its Earthward journey on May 10. Its return trip will take two and half years.
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Bennu, the asteroid the spacecraft accosted, is a 1,600-foot-wide (500-meter) hunk of rock and ice located 200 million miles (321 million kilometers) from Earth. OSIRIS-REx snagged a handful of dust last October after a fairly dramatic encounter with the desolate little world. NASA was concerned that OSIRIS-REx wouldn’t be able to bring back a full sample due to leaks in the collection system. Thankfully, the samples now are headed to Earth, where they w
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NASA’s asteroid explorer has begun its long journey home with precious cargo onboard: samples of the asteroid Bennu.
An artist s illustration shows OSIRIS-REX departing 101955 Bennu.
NASA / GSFC
It has been worth the wait. After five years on mission, including more than two years spent exploring the 500-meter asteroid 101955 Bennu, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REX) burned its thrusters for seven minutes on Monday, May 10th. This burn set the spacecraft moving 1,000 kilometers per hour (600 mph) relative to the asteroid to start its 2.5-year journey
05-12-2021
This illustration provided by NASA depicts the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft at the asteroid Bennu. (Conceptual Image Lab/Goddard Space Flight Center/NASA via AP)
After five years in space, a NASA spacecraft is on its way back to Earth after collecting dust and rocks from the asteroid Bennu.
Osiris-Rex reached asteroid Bennu in 2018 and spent two years flying near and around it, before collecting rubble from the surface last fall.
The University of Arizona s Dante Lauretta, the principal scientist, estimates the spacecraft holds between a half pound and 1 pound (200 grams and 400 grams) of mostly bite-size chunks. Either way, it easily exceeds the target of at least 2 ounces (60 grams).