The capsule will parachute down to a landing site in the Utah desert on September 24.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, will not return to Earth with the capsule. Instead, it will continue its journey in space and fly by another asteroid named Apophis in 2029.
Apophis was once considered a potential threat to Earth, but recent observations have ruled out any possibility of impact in the next century. OSIRIS-REx will provide a close-up view of the 1,213-foot-wide asteroid and help scientists learn more about its shape, size, and composition.that formed about 4.5 billion years ago when the solar system was still young. Studying its material can reveal clues about the origin and evolution of planets and life.
Bennu is also of interest because it has a small chance of hitting Earth in the late 22nd century. By measuring its orbit and mass, OSIRIS-REx can help scientists predict its future trajectory and assess the risk of impact. The mission has already achieved several milestones and made some surprising discoveries. OSIRIS-REx performed the closest orbit ever around a planetary body and mapped Bennu’s surface in unprecedented detail. It also found that Bennu is an active asteroid that occasionally ejects particles into space.on Bennu’s surface. These elements are essential for life and suggest that Bennu may have originated from a larger parent body that was once habitable.
The most challenging part of the mission was to collect a sample from Bennu’s rugged terrain. OSIRIS-REx had to touch down on a narrow site surrounded by boulders and use a robotic arm to blast air and scoop up dust. The maneuver was successfully executed on October 20, 2020.
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