The mission team received images sent by the spacecraft last Thursday which showed the surface of the sample collection was filled to the brim – so much so that an open strip was laid through the rocks, allowing particles to escape into space.
The team canceled a scheduled maneuver for the spacecraft, which was to estimate the set of samples they had collected. But researchers believe the spacecraft well meets the mission requirement of 2 ounces or 60 grams.
Due to the success of the sample collection, the team worked over the weekend to expedite preparations for sample stoving, originally scheduled for November 2.
“The abundance of material we collected from Bennu made it possible to speed up our decision on stoving,” said Dr. Dante Lure Retta, chief investigator of OSIRIS-Rex at the University of Rizzo in Tucson. “The team is now working around the clock to speed up the storage timeline so we can secure as much material as possible to get back to Earth.”
The collection head will be housed in the spacecraft’s sample return capsule to preserve the material collected by the spacecraft during its short and historic historic roughly-second touchdown on Bennu last week.
This is NASA’s first mission to swim and collect samples on the planet and it will return to Earth in September 2023. .
The planet and spacecraft are currently more than 200 million miles from Earth. This creates a one-way, 18.5-minute communication delay between OSIRIS-Rex and its mission team on Earth.
The delay caused the spacecraft to operate autonomously during a collection event last week. But stoving is a different story.
Take care carefully
Each stage of sampling the sample requires inspection and commands sent by the team. Basically, every time the spacecraft completes one step, it sends data and images back to the team. Once the researchers receive them, they assess the progress of OSIRIS-REx and send another command.
This will ensure that the storage care is placed in the capsule with proper care.
This stoving process will take several days by team estimates, but this will result in the safe storage and sealing of the sample so that it can return to Earth.
To aid this process, team members rely on new imaging sequences to help observe the leaking of material from the head of the collection. They can also be used to ensure that escaping particles do not interfere with stoving.
The spacecraft will not depart for Earth until March 2021 when the asteroid aligns with Earth to provide a more fuel-efficient travel home.
“I am proud of the amazing work of the OSIRIIRS-Rex team and their success on this issue,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, in a statement.
“The mission is in a good position to return to the historic, historical and significant specimen of the planet Earth, and to secure those valuables, on a quick schedule, they are doing all the right things.”
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