NASA’s OSIRIIRIS-Rex spacecraft will “t” c the asteroid Bennu on Tuesday (Oct. 20) and collect a sample to return to Earth.
OSIRIS-Rex is NASA’s first asteroid-sampling spacecraft. Attempts to collect “Touch-and-Go” (TAG) specimens include a series of maneuvers that will bring the spacecraft down to the planet’s surface. The location chosen for the touchdown is called Nightingale, a rocky area with a diameter of 52 feet (16 meters) and located in the northern hemisphere of Bennu, according to NASA.
“We’ve never done this before,” Nai Castro, the operations manager for the OSIRIS-Rex mission, said in a NASA video. “We’re really going to collect a sample and bring it down to Earth for further examination by scientists.”
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To achieve this, the spacecraft has been orbiting Bennu since 2018 and studying the asteroids in great detail, searching for the best landing site – a space that is large enough, relatively flat and covered in fine-grained material.
However, finding such an area was a challenge, as a result of which a number of additional closed flyby and observations would select the appropriate sample site. The OSIRIIS-Rex team considered other potential locations such as spray, kingfisher and sandpiper before selecting Nightingale, which, according to NASA, has the highest amount of unbustered fine-grained material.
How the tag will work
NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft will perform three different maneuvers to reach the planet’s surface. The first step is called a checkpoint burn, during which the spacecraft Nightingale will fire its thrusters to adjust its position relative to the sample site. When the OSIRIIS-Rex reaches an altitude of about 177 feet (54 m), another maneuver called Match Point Burn will slow down the descent of the spacecraft and target the way to match the rotation of the asteroid at the time of contact, according to NASA.
The spacecraft’s robotic sampling arm, called the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM), will then make contact with Bennu’s surface for less than 16 seconds before returning to orbit. Upon contact with the asteroid, one of the three pressurized nitrogen canisters will fire, provoking a sample of dust and small rocks, which will then be caught in the hand collector’s head and stored to return to Earth.
It will take about four hours to land on the surface of Bennu. The spacecraft’s natural feature tracking, David Lorenz, of Tag to Campaign Lead, states that the spacecraft can identify landmarks during its origin and improve its need, if necessary, to navigate around large boulders and ensure a safe landing in a relatively clear space. NFT). Video.
“There are a lot of things that can go wrong, and we also have to be prepared that we may not succeed in our first attempt at Nightingale,” Mike Moreau, deputy project manager for OSIRIS-Rex, said in the video.
In the event that the first tag attempt is not successful, the spacecraft is equipped with nitrogen canisters with backup pressure, which will allow additional effort to collect the sample. The team hopes to collect 2 zns. (Grams0 grams) of fine-grained material from the surface of the asteroid, which would be the largest sample return from space since the Apollo program, according to NASA.
The OSIRIS-Rex team has also studied Nightingale to identify areas inside the sample site that could potentially damage the spacecraft. Crisis maps of the site were developed and programmed into the spacecraft’s navigation system, so that if the NFT system detects dangerous landmarks, the spacecraft will automatically return from the asteroid. According to the video, this will allow the mission to re-appeal the sample collection at a future date.
Related: How NASA’s Asteroid Sample-Return Mission Works (Infographic)
After collecting its samples, OSIRIS-Rex will leave its thrusters behind Bennu. If all goes according to plan during collection, the team will take a photo of the TAGSAM head and test the sample to see if it has surface material. There will also be a spin maneuver on Saturday (Oct 24) to measure the sample set and ensure at least 2 zns. (60 g) of material was collected and can be stored to return to Earth in 2023. However, if not enough samples have been collected, the spacecraft will be able to make two more attempts, according to the video.
“It’s really exciting to know that we will finally be able to touch the surface of the asteroid and collect samples to return to Earth,” Castro said.
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