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Credit: NASA / Goddard / University of Arizona
North Logan, Utah, October 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – On a clear fall night in September 2016, NASA launched a spacecraft to a distant asteroid to help answer questions fundamental to the human experience: Where did we come from? and where is our destiny? With the help of the Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory, the agency is one step closer to answering those questions today.
Under the leadership of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft extended its articulated robotic arm yesterday at approximately 6:12 p.m. EDT to collect debris, called regolith, from the surface of the asteroid Bennu. SDL built the camera electronics for an OSIRIS-REx integrated three-camera package called OCAMS.
The integrated cameras that SDL helped build are known as PolyCam, MapCam, and SamCam. PolyCam allowed NASA to acquire images of Bennu from approximately 1.2 million miles away and assisted with the spacecraft’s navigation to the asteroid during the approach. MapCam was responsible for searching the asteroid for a suitable place to collect the sample. MapCam also mapped Bennu and searched for degassing columns and other debris ejected from the asteroid. SamCam is a short range camera that verified the acquisition of the sample and will take images of the sampling mechanism.
“Bennu’s successful regolith collection perfectly illustrates the ingenuity of the dedicated men and women of America’s historic space program, who regularly collaborate to provide valuable science,” said Jed Hancock, executive director of programs and operations for SDL. “SDL is honored to be a part of this historic mission that builds on our decades-long partnership with NASA and helps the agency achieve its vision of ‘reaching new heights and revealing the unknown for the benefit of humanity.’
The Touch-and-Go sample acquisition mechanism, TAGSAM, is the arm of the spacecraft responsible for collecting Bennu’s regolith sample and includes a round sampling head at the end. During the touch-and-go maneuver, the sampler head was extended towards Bennu. The momentum of the spacecraft’s slow downward trajectory pushed the sampler head against the asteroid’s surface for about ten seconds, long enough to obtain a sample. Upon contact, the spacecraft fired nitrogen gas at the surface to remove dust and small pebbles, which were then captured.
OSIRIS-REx fired its thruster away from Bennu’s surface, and now the mission team will measure the amount of sample by rotating the spacecraft with the collection arm extended. The team will compare the change in the spacecraft’s inertia with a previous empty TAGSAM spin to make sure enough sample has been collected. The TAGSAM head will then be placed in the Sample Return Capsule to return to Earth. After successful stowage, the spacecraft will slowly drift away from Bennu to a safe distance, where it will remain until its departure in 2021 for the Cruise Phase back to Earth.
Why Bennu?
Currently, some 207 million miles from Earth, the asteroid Bennu is a carbon-based asteroid whose regolith may contain evidence of the early history of our solar system. Within its regolith there could be clues that Bennu may also have molecular precursors to the origin of life and Earth’s oceans, scientists believe.
With a polar diameter of approximately 510 meters (the Empire State Building is 443 meters high), Bennu is also one of the most potentially dangerous asteroids and has a relatively high probability of impacting Earth in the late 22nd century. OSIRIS-REx will determine the physical and chemical properties of Bennu, which will be critical knowledge in the event of an impact mitigation mission.
According to NASA, asteroids like Bennu contain natural resources like water, organic matter, and precious metals. In the future, these asteroids may fuel exploration of the solar system by robotic and manned spacecraft.
“It is incredibly exciting to be involved in missions like OSIRIS-REx,” said Alan Thurgood, director of SDL’s commercial and civil space division. “Being part of an exciting science with historically important missions and advancing human knowledge motivates our team at SDL to do great work.”
The OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule will land in the western Utah desert in 2023.
SDL has been solving the technical challenges faced by the military, the scientific community, and industry for six decades and supports NASA’s mission to drive advancements in science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration to enhance knowledge, education, innovation. , the economic vitality and the administration of Earth. As one of 14 university-affiliated research centers, SDL acts as a subject matter expert in its core research areas for the US government, ensuring essential engineering and technology capabilities are maintained. SDL is a research laboratory based in North Logan, UT, with offices in Albuquerque, NM; Bedford, MA; Colorado Springs, CO; Dayton, OH; Huntsville, AL; Houston, TX; Los Angeles California; Stafford, VA; and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.sdl.usu.edu.
Eric Warren Space Dynamics Laboratory (435) 881-8439 [email protected]
