OSIRIS-Rex Mission

By Amigos IAS

 

Why is it in the news?

  • NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft is set to return to Earth.
  • OSIRIS-REx was launched in 2016 with the mission to study and collect samples from the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) Bennu.

About the Mission

  • First United States asteroid sample return mission.
  • Aims to collect a pristine asteroid sample and bring it back to Earth for scientific study.
  • Equipped with five instruments, including cameras, a spectrometer, and a laser altimeter.
  • Features a robotic arm called the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) for collecting a sample from the asteroid.
  • Scientists will use the asteroid samples to study the formation of the solar system and habitable planets like Earth.
  • NASA will distribute a portion of the samples to laboratories worldwide and reserve 75% for future generations.
Asteroid Bennu
  • Ancient asteroid located more than 200 million miles from Earth.
  • Landing site on Bennu: Nightingale.
  • Approximately as tall as the Empire State Building and named after an Egyptian deity.
  • Discovered in 1999 by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research team.
  • Classified as a B-type asteroid, rich in carbon and minerals.
  • Reflects only about 4% of incoming light.
  • Offers insights into the early solar system’s conditions and chemistry.
  • Provides valuable information about the solar system’s early history and the potential for life-seeding ingredients.

 

Asteroids

·       Asteroids are rocky objects orbiting the Sun, smaller than planets.

·       Over 994,000 known asteroids, remnants of the solar system’s formation.

·       Classified into three groups: main asteroid belt, trojans, and Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs).

·       NEAs include Earth-crossing asteroids, with over 10,000 known, and some categorized as Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs).

 

 

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