{"id":17633,"date":"2020-10-20T21:49:19","date_gmt":"2020-10-20T13:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/osiris-rex-probe-touches-down-to-grab-bits-of-an-asteroid-with-assist-from-aerojet\/"},"modified":"2020-10-20T21:49:19","modified_gmt":"2020-10-20T13:49:19","slug":"osiris-rex-probe-touches-down-to-grab-bits-of-an-asteroid-with-assist-from-aerojet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/osiris-rex-probe-touches-down-to-grab-bits-of-an-asteroid-with-assist-from-aerojet\/","title":{"rendered":"OSIRIS-REx probe touches down to grab bits of an asteroid, with assist from Aerojet"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_589171\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-589171\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-589171\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/201020-osiris4-630x386.jpeg\" alt=\"OSIRIS-REx probe\" width=\"630\" height=\"386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/201020-osiris4-630x386.jpeg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/201020-osiris4-768x471.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/201020-osiris4.jpeg 1144w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-589171\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s conception shows NASA\u2019s OSIRIS-REx probe lowering its sample collection arm to the surface of the asteroid Bennu. (Lockheed Martin Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>NASA\u2019s OSIRIS-REx probe reached the climax of its seven-year round trip to deep space today and briefly touched down on a near-Earth asteroid, propelled by thrusters made in the Seattle area.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists and engineers at Lockheed Martin\u2019s Mission Support Area in Colorado received word at 4:12 p.m. MT (3:12 p.m. PT) that the touch-and-go maneuver at asteroid Bennu was successful, sparking cheers and fist-shaking. The maneuver was aimed at collecting samples of dust and gravel on the asteroid\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n<p>Mission team members wore masks and tried to observe social distancing as a COVID-19 safety measure, but some hugged nevertheless.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t believe we actually pulled this off,\u201d said the University of Arizona\u2019s Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for the mission. \u201cThe spacecraft did everything it was supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All 28 of the rocket engines on the van-sized OSIRIS-REx probe were built at Aerojet Rocketdyne\u2019s facility in Redmond, Wash., and provided to Lockheed Martin, the spacecraft\u2019s main contractor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe sample collection portion of the mission requires our engines to perform with extremely high precision, with no room for error,\u201d Aerojet Rocketdyne\u2019s CEO and president, Eileen Drake, said in a pre-touchdown news release.<\/p>\n<p>Fred Wilson, the head of business development for space systems at Aerojet Rocketdyne Redmond, said there was \u201ca lot of excitement\u201d at the Seattle-area facility when the crucial maneuver took place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese engines that we built roughly six years ago and shipped off \u2026 they\u2019re doing their job out there,\u201d Wilson told GeekWire after the encounter.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1318678101358833664&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2020%2Fosiris-rex-probe-touches-grab-bits-asteroid-assist-aerojet%2F&amp;sessionId=a6ad8f0d675b0bfeae9372c5dda1ef7321449642&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1318678101358833664\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782799046585819357=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;Sample collection is complete.&#8221; &#8220;All right! We&#8217;re on our way back!&#8221; After a TAG (Touch-And-Go) maneuver to capture a sample, our @OSIRISREx spacecraft fired its thrusters to back away from asteroid Bennu\u2019s surface and navigate to a safe distance away. #ToBennuAndBack pic.twitter.com\/skJPKlFRR3<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NASA (@NASA) October 20, 2020<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The touch-and-go maneuver, nicknamed TAG, targeted a 14-meter-wide (45-foot-wide) patch of the surface of Bennu, more than 200 million miles away from Earth. It took 18 and a half minutes for signals sent by the spacecraft to reach Earth \u2014 which meant that the descent had to be controlled autonomously, based on an analysis of close-up imagery conducted by the spacecraft\u2019s onboard computer.<\/p>\n<p>Just before the TAG took place, controllers reported that the spacecraft appeared to be within 1.7 meters (5.5 feet) of the target point. That was important, because the target site \u2014 nicknamed Nightingale \u2014 was carefully chosen to avoid rocky hazards on the surface.<\/p>\n<p>When OSIRIS-REx was launched, back in 2016, mission planners had expected to find a smooth stretch of cosmic sand for sample collection. But after the probe\u2019s arrival at Bennu in 2018, they were surprised to find that the surface was more rugged than they expected. That added to the pressure to execute a precision maneuver.<\/p>\n<p>The OSIRIS-REx team took it slow and steady, sending commands that took the spacecraft through a four-hour descent sequence. Toward the end, the distance decreased at a rate of 4 inches (10 centimeters) per second, or less than a tenth of walking speed.<\/p>\n<p>Beth Buck, mission operations program manager for Lockheed Martin, said the experience wasn\u2019t anything like the \u201cseven minutes of terror\u201d that precede a Mars landing. \u201cThis is much more of a four and a half hours of mild anxiousness,\u201d Buck quipped during a pre-touchdown briefing.<\/p>\n<p>At the climax, OSIRIS-REx\u2019s collection arm touched Bennu\u2019s surface for only a few seconds. Compressed nitrogen gas was puffed into a contraption at the end of the arm that served as a sort of \u201creverse vacuum cleaner.\u201d The puffs were designed to blow bits of material as big as pieces of gravel (about an inch wide) into a sample-collecting receptacle.<\/p>\n<p>After the touch-and-go, the spacecraft immediately backed away for safety\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"#EZScience: OSIRIS-REx Touches Down On Bennu\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/N_737VvWq-Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>There was a lot riding on a successful maneuver: OSIRIS-REx has been studying Bennu for two years using a suite of scientific instruments, but collecting at least 2 ounces (60 grams) of material for return to Earth is the primary task for the $800 million mission.<\/p>\n<p>OSIRIS-REx is an&nbsp;Egyptian-sounding acronym that stands for \u201cOrigins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security \u2013 Regolith Explorer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 1,500-foot-wide asteroid is thought to be one of the leftovers from the formation of the solar system more than 4 billion years ago. It\u2019s rich in water as well as in carbon-bearing compounds that are essential to organic processes. For those reasons, scientists hope that a close analysis of the samples, conducted with all the instruments available back on Earth, will yield fresh insights into planetary origins and the chemical precursors of life.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists could also learn more about the types of resources that could be extracted from asteroids, as well as the best strategies for diverting potentially hazardous space rocks. Bennu itself has an ever-so-slight, 1-in-2,700 chance of colliding with Earth sometime between the year 2175 and 2199.<\/p>\n<p>Detailed data from today\u2019s encounter will be transmitted to Earth overnight and released during a news conference on Wednesday. If, for some reason, the collection effort didn\u2019t actually pick up enough of a sample, the OSIRIS-REx team can try again in January.<\/p>\n<p>If all goes according to plan, the spacecraft will begin the homeward journey next March, powered once again by Aerojet engines. In 2023, it\u2019s due to fly past Earth and eject a capsule containing the precious sample for a parachute-aided descent to a recovery site in the Utah desert.<\/p>\n<p>This is the first-ever asteroid sample return mission for NASA, following a precedent set by Japan more than a decade ago with its Hayabusa mission to the asteroid Itokawa. A follow-up probe, Hayabusa 2, is due to bring a sample from the asteroid Ryugu back to Earth in December.<\/p>\n<p>Still more asteroid missions are planned in the years ahead. NASA is scheduled to launch the Lucy probe on an asteroid tour next year, followed by the start of the Psyche spacecraft\u2019s journey to a metal-rich asteroid of the same name in 2022.<\/p>\n<h4>Cosmic Log update: OSIRIS-REx is overflowing with asteroid stuff<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows NASA\u2019s OSIRIS-REx probe lowering its sample collection arm to the surface of the asteroid Bennu. (Lockheed Martin Illustration) NASA\u2019s OSIRIS-REx probe reached the climax of its seven-year round trip to deep space today and briefly touched down on a near-Earth asteroid, propelled by thrusters made in the Seattle area. Scientists and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[864,4365,1519,190,1527],"class_list":["post-17633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-aerojet-rocketdyne","tag-asteroid","tag-asteroids","tag-nasa","tag-osiris-rex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17633"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17633\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}