Tag: Bennu
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OSIRIS-REx teams conduct final rehearsals before sample capsule return in September
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, launched in September 2016, is now less than a month away from bringing back samples from asteroid Bennu. NASA conducted a press conference on Aug. 30 to preview the Sept. 24 landing at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. To prepare for the landing, NASA conducted an end-to-end capsule retrieval exercise on…
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After bopping an asteroid 3 years ago, NASA will finally see the results
Christmas Day for scientists who study asteroids is coming in just two months when a small spacecraft carrying material from a distant rubble pile will land in a Utah desert. The return of the OSIRIS-REx sample container on September 24 will cap the primary mission to capture material from an asteroid—in this case, the carbonaceous…
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Data from OSIRIS-REx reveals loose surface of asteroid Bennu and “early aging” of asteroids
Recently analyzed data from an asteroid surface-sample collection performed by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has revealed that asteroid 101955 Bennu’s surface regolith is much looser than previously thought. Had OSIRIS-REx not fired its thrusters to back away from Bennu after collecting its sample, the spacecraft likely would’ve sunk straight into Bennu’s surface. What’s more, additional data…
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Lockheed talks OSIRIS-REx success, readiness for APEX mission to Apophis
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is on its way back to Earth after a multi-year, successful mission to the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) Bennu. The spacecraft is now bringing a sample of Bennu’s surface back for a drop-off at Earth before continuing with an extended mission. The prolonged mission is called OSIRIS-APEX and will see the craft intercept…
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Scientists release new view from OSIRIS-REx’s asteroid smash and grab
This view from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft’s navigation camera shows asteroid Bennu as the probe moved in for a sample collection maneuver Oct. 20. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin Scientists say the touch and go landing by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on an asteroid last month revealed fresh insights into the structure of loose rocks that may…
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Asteroid samples sealed in OSIRIS-REx return capsule
A camera aboard NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft showed the mission’s sample return capsule closed its heat shield late Wednesday after a robotic arm placed asteroid samples inside for the trip back to Earth. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin A collection chamber that could contain more than 2 pounds of samples gathered from an asteroid in deep…
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OSIRIS-REx begins stowing asteroid sample into return capsule
These images from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft were taken Tuesday, Oct. 27, showing the mission’s robotic arm placing the sampling head inside the capsule that will return the asteroid specimens to Earth in 2023. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin Working under close supervision from ground controllers more than 200 million miles away, the robotic arm on…
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OSIRIS-REx overflows with asteroid samples after bagging bounty from Bennu
Captured by the spacecraft’s SamCam camera on Oct. 22, 2020, this series of three images shows that the sampler head on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is full of rocks and dust collected from the surface of the asteroid Bennu. They show also that some of these particles are slowly escaping the sampler head. Credit: NASA The…
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Scientists thrilled with first look at asteroid sampler in action
The first images beamed back to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft after it briefly landed an asteroid buoyed expectations Wednesday that the probe collected enough samples to meet the mission’s minimum requirement for return to Earth. But it will take another week for ground teams to get a reasonably precise estimate of how much…
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Live coverage: OSIRIS-REx makes touch and go landing on asteroid
Live coverage of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to collect a sample from asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. [tabby title=”Sample Collection Recap Briefing”] [tabby title=”NASA’s Live Coverage of the Touch And Go Landing”] [tabby title=”Clean Feed of…