BENNU twelve-image_polycam_mosaic, 12-2-18. Photo courtesy of NASA.
By Brooke Edwards
This story about the Osiris-REx mission has been edited slightly from the original version and includes a link to an explanation of the sample’s re-entry on 9/24.
Launched in 2016, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer) will return to Earth in September carrying material from an asteroid. This is NASA’s (and the United States’ ) first mission to an asteroid.
In 2020, the explorer collected regolith samples from the asteroid known as Bennu. Regoliths on asteroids are developed by meteoroid impacts and consist of dust, broken rocks and other materials covering a rocky interior. Bennu is about 1,614 feet in diameter and has a mass of approximately 85.5 million tons. The asteroid orbits the Sun once every 1.2 years at an average distance of about 105 million miles. Earth’s average orbital distance from the Sun is 93 million miles. Bennu makes a close approach to Earth every six years.
A leftover from the early days of the solar system, dating as far back as 4.5 billion years, this asteroid may provide insights into the function of similar asteroids in the creation of planets and the transportation of organic ingredients and water to Earth. This delivery of organic matter might have played a key role in the eventual emergence of life. By studying these samples, scientists may also better understand asteroids that could impact Earth. These data may help in future asteroid deflection efforts.
On May 10, 2021, OSIRIS-REx left Bennu for its flight back to Earth. Teams on the ground have been closely monitoring it and making course adjustments as necessary to ensure a safe return.
The Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas is awaiting the sample’s return to Earth. In a NASA article, Deputy OSIRIS-Rex curator Nicole Lunning said: “Our team is engaged in a whirlwind of activity as we get ready for the sample.”
The sample capsule, holding about a cup of astromaterial, is scheduled to parachute to the Utah desert approximately 70 miles west of Salt Lake City on Sept. 24, after 10:42 a.m. ET. Read a step-by-step NASA account of what will happen just prior to and after the sample’s re-entry HERE.
The team at Johnson Space Center has a designated lab to study and store the samples. After allocating samples for study worldwide, the team will store a portion of the astromaterial in a sterile environment for study by future generations.
Follow updates on social media. Watch the NASA live stream and visit the agency’s website on the day of OSIRIS-REx’s return. Read more at: nasa.gov/osiris-rex.
Brooke Edwards is our area’s NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador. She has held Star Parties at 5th Avenue Beach and Orchard Beach State Park in Manistee. Follow her on Facebook @Brooke-Edwards-Solar-System-Ambassador.
