1. Home
  2. Blog
  3. UPSC

OSIRIS-Rex Mission


 

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).

 

 


Get free UPSC Updates straight to your inbox!

Get Updates on New Notification about APPSC, TSPSC and UPSC

Get Current Affairs Updates Directly into your Inbox

Discover more from AMIGOS IAS

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

WhatsApp Us

Exit mobile version