NASA awaits arrival of first asteroid samples in September
%2Favatars%2FmiPaTnXVs8LI.png&w=96&q=75)
%2F2023%2F08%2F31%2Fimage%2Fjpeg%2FY4AVPpSGvTfudXnt9mtGeXZaM6rX4YEXy0P2Tli8.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
NASA has been meticulously preparing for the successful delivery of its first sample return of asteroid Bennu as part of the OSIRIS-REx mission.
A NASA-led team recently completed the last training test of the sample return capsule in Utah's West Desert. On September 24, the sample return capsule is expected to land at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range in the United States.
OSIRIS-REx mission — Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, and Regolith Explorer — was launched to investigate the near-Earth asteroid Bennu’s composition and retrieve a small sample to return to Earth.
During a recent rehearsal, a dummy sample capsule was dropped from an airplane that landed at the drop zone at this military range.
“We are now mere weeks away from receiving a piece of solar system history on Earth, and this successful drop test ensures we’re ready. Pristine material from asteroid Bennu will help shed light on the formation of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago, and perhaps even on how life on Earth began,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, in an official release.
Previously, the mission team conducted drop tests and other rehearsals for capsule retrieval, including sample curation processes.
Parachute-assisted landing of the capsule return
The capsule holds a tiny asteroid sample that weighs about 8.8 ounces. In 2020, the spacecraft gathered and securely stored rocky material from the asteroid's surface.
The spacecraft's TAGSAM (Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) arm conducted the sample collection task. For around five seconds, the sampler head touched the surface of Bennu. It blasted nitrogen gas at contact to stir up loose surface material (dust and small rocks), subsequently caught in the TAGSAM head.
“We are now in the final leg of this seven-year journey, and it feels very much like the last few miles of a marathon, with a confluence of emotions like pride and joy coexisting with a determined focus to complete the race well,” said Rich Burns, project manager for OSIRIS-REx at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
After being released from the spacecraft, the capsule will take roughly 13 minutes to land inside the allocated location. The mission team will quickly take the return capsule to a makeshift clean facility on the military range following the parachute-assisted landing.
It must be collected immediately to avoid Earth pollutants entering the capsule and contaminating the sample.
The samples will then be flown to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, where a tiny percentage will be dispersed to various institutes for scientific research.
This small sample could provide a wealth of information regarding the formation of our home planet and solar system and the origin of essential organic compounds that could have paved the way for the development of early life on Earth.
The precise trajectory is key
Interesting Engineering earlier reported that sample retrieval is one of the most challenging parts of this entire mission — as it involves a lot of nitty-gritty.
Precision regarding the spacecraft's return trajectory is one of the keys to a successful mission. That’s why NASA will keep an eagle eye on the return path of the spacecraft.
The mission team will also tap into computer models for accurate navigation in case of an unusual circumstance arising from weather, solar activity, or even space debris on its path.
“We are now in the final leg of this seven-year journey, and it feels very much like the last few miles of a marathon, with a confluence of emotions like pride and joy coexisting with a determined focus to complete the race well,” said Rich Burns, project manager for OSIRIS-REx at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
According to NASA, the spacecraft will reach Earth's atmosphere at 8:42 am MDT (10:42 am EDT) at around 27,650 mph 44,500 kph).
NASA will broadcast live on NASA TV, the NASA app, beginning at 10 am EDT (8 am MDT).
SHOW COMMENT (1)
/2023/09/23/image/jpeg/Ht9SoPpiJDjL8laVISlPyrfNrL4LH0pME1Kay3it.jpg "NYPD now has a robot police officer for its Manhattan subway")
/2023/09/23/image/jpeg/W8VllCYlULTY8opeushL1wtniKbXOU8z3GD7sUl0.jpg "NASA plans to use blockchain to store data on the moon")
/2023/08/07/image/jpeg/Ud2zDGb2iGOiBAo4pvLO543XFvNGkPlUEZCF7qSY.jpg "Why do matter and the universe exist at all? Scientists get closer to the answer")
/2023/09/23/image/jpeg/IJ6smGz8GFzm6SJpNpRfsAeMEiDH4u29VFUkdUK4.jpg "Wind power tech could unlock 80% more energy in the US")
/2023/08/30/image/jpeg/Llkj2YI4zCWyQWM06dnC9PZHBRzZLT4na9uWmRXZ.jpg "Maybe you can hear sounds in space after all")
/2023/09/23/image/jpeg/Kap6NAa8IoTyQmZQEwB4waL2MWykBpyJc9piLpRK.jpg "The genius engineering behind 3D-printed rockets")
/2023/08/12/image/jpeg/1xpgw9M0j07fJWL4SukxFDjALW7dwwo6wjsgbU0t.jpg "Magnetic fields reveal lost undersea worlds")
/2023/08/12/image/jpeg/YpIBySMmJsZiGQlarXybqbSBEqLy3heGb8irafUg.jpg "Predictions for what the world will be like in 2100?")
/2023/09/02/image/jpeg/kVfib67OvUtCNGT9wiJFzhnr2NjVyYwWpVHsFNXg.jpg "Cleaning tech that makes people want to wash their hands")
/2023/09/23/image/jpeg/n5jNK5bVz6EEUqDzXzoPO5V1JFn5IpAlnncC5oqR.jpg "This nanodevice harnesses Coulomb drag to create electricity")