[ad_1]
The “Osiris Rex” probe has been orbiting the asteroid Bennu for two years. Today, a robotic arm is supposed to shake its surface – a maneuver NASA has tried twice.
NASA’s “Osiris-Rex” probe will take a sample from the asteroid Bennu in a complicated maneuver that will last several hours today, Tuesday, at approximately 7:30 pm CEST. The probe is supposed to come within a few meters of Bennu and then extend a kind of robotic arm. This robotic arm is supposed to touch the surface of the asteroid for about five seconds and eject pressurized nitrogen.
It’s supposed to stir the surface. Then a sample of approximately 60 to 2000 grams is aspirated before the entire probe is pulled away from Bennu. The US space agency NASA had previously successfully rehearsed the maneuver twice. “Osiris-Rex” was launched from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in September 2016 and reached Bennu about two years later. Since then, the six-meter-long, 2,100-kilogram “Osiris Rex” probe (the abbreviation stands for: Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Safety Regolith Explorer) has been orbiting the asteroid and examining it with its scientific instruments and cameras. .
(WHAT / dpa)
