Published By: Satavisha

OSIRIS-REx: Interesting Facts About NASA’s Mission To Taste An Asteroid

Like boot prints on the moon, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft left its mark on an asteroid named Bennu.

OSIRIS-REx traveled to the near-earth asteroid, Bennu, and intends to bring back a small sample to Earth for research. The mission was launched on September 8, 2016, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. OSIRIS-REx reached Bennu from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The spacecraft reached the asteroid in 2018 and in 2023 it will return to Earth with a sample. OSIRIS-REx will orbit the sun for a year before using the gravitational field of the Earth to help it on its way to Bennu. Down below are some riveting facts about the spacecraft and its mission to enlighten you.

How does Bennu look?

Bennu is rather spherical, and it is a nice pace of change from all the other asteroids that mostly resemble floating potatoes. This asteroid is rich in carbon and is dark, and it spins around itself once every 4.3 hours. The asteroid is 500 meters across and slightly taller than the Empire State Building.

The round-trip costs about $800 million

OSIRIS-REx’s round-trip will require a minimum of seven years. The spacecraft once looping around the sun will fly past Earth on September 22, 2017. By 2018’s August, Bennu will become a pixel in the eyes of the spacecraft. In the upcoming two years, the spacecraft is intended to approach its target and will map the topography of Bennu to identify the suitable landing spot and capture a sample. If everything goes according to plan, OSIRIS-REx will return to the neighborhood of Earth and release a capsule containing bits of Bennu on September 17, 2023.

Why Bennu is the lucky candidate?

The primary aim of the mission is to collect carbon-rich sample from a primitive object. Bennu is a B-type asteroid and is identified by NASA as one of the “blackest objects” in the solar system. The asteroid also comes incredibly close to Earth in every six years, within about 0.002 AU. This implies that Bennu has a high probability of impacting Earth in the late 22nd century. Thus, it is a good reason to learn more about this asteroid.

How much of Bennu will OSIRIS-REx be able to snag?

It is not entirely clear as to how much of Bennu can the spacecraft snag, but the amount collected could be anywhere between a couple of ounces and four pounds of material. The team associated with the mission will give 0.5 percent to the Japanese Space agency and 4 percent of the sample to Canadian partners and will preserve 75 percent of the sample for future research.

Are you excited to watch NASA disclose the findings derived from the OSIRIS-REx mission?