osiris-rex is a NASA mission to explore
near-earth asteroid Bennu a remnant from
the dawn of the solar system and to
return a sample of been new to earth on
September 8 2016 osiris-rex began its
journey to Benner from Cape Canaveral
Florida
aboard an Atlas 5 rocket it lifted off
shortly before sunset climbing eastward
over the Atlantic Ocean to traverse the
night side of Earth one hour later
osiris-rex separated from its Centaur
upper stage rocket and drifted into
space it deployed its solar arrays to
catch the Rising Sun and made a final
pass over Australia before embarking on
its outbound cruise to Bannu after a
year in orbit around the Sun osiris-rex
briefly returned to Earth in September
2017 for a gravity assist the spacecraft
passed within 18,000 kilometers of
Antarctica then turned its instrument
deck toward home to capture images and
spectra of the earth in the moon the
gravity assist bent the trajectory of
osiris-rex by 6 degrees matching the
orbital tilt of venue and sending the
spacecraft on a path to catch its target
in August 2018 osiris-rex began its
approach phase its long-range camera
captured the first visible light images
of Venu is a single pixel moving across
a field of stars over the following
months Bhanu grew from a pixel into a
world with osiris-rex revealing its
shape rotation and color for the first
time now after chasing its target for
over two years
osiris-rex is arriving at asteroid Bennu
on December 3rd it will fire its
thrusters to match Ben whose velocity
and begin its preliminary survey
osiris-rex will pass high above the
equator and the poles measuring venez
position and mass and refining its size
shape and spin on New Year's Eve
osiris-rex will venture close enough to
Ben who to be captured into orbit by its
miniscule gravity making it the smallest
world ever to be orbited by a spacecraft
in early 2019 osiris-rex will break
orbit to conduct a detailed survey of
Benno first it will carry out a mapping
campaign called the baseball diamond by
observing Vento at different latitudes
and times of day
osiris-rex will capture stereo images
and identify large rocks on the surface
that could pose a hazard later in the
mission in its second mapping campaign
osiris-rex will observe Benno from 7
different stations around its equator at
each station it will take measurements
from pole to pole using its mapping
camera laser altimeter and 2
spectrometers the combined data will
provide a detailed look at venues
geologic features and its composition
this will improve landmark bastes
navigation and enable mission planners
to begin looking for places to collect a
sample following the detailed survey
osiris-rex will once again enter orbit
at a radius of only one kilometer
orbital B will serve as the missions
safe home orbit until sample collection
during this phase osiris-rex will
globally map venue it will fly in a
polar orbit as the asteroid rotates
beneath enabling full coverage of the
surface orbital bees precession or
wobble will also be used to measure been
whose gravity field along with the
non-gravitational forces that are slowly
altering the news trajectory in mid 2019
osiris-rex will begin its reconnaissance
phase it will break orbit and fly over
for candidate sample sites at 225 metres
taking high-resolution images flying at
such close proximity will reveal large
pebbles that could pose a hazard during
sample collection mission planners will
use this information to select the two
best sites for additional inspection
at a range of 525 meters osiris-rex will
fly over the two final candidate sites
spectrally mapping the surface to reveal
its chemical composition this
information will help mission planners
determine the most valuable site for
collecting the sample once the final
site has been selected osiris-rex will
begin its rehearsal phase first it will
practice autonomous flight to a
predetermined a check point where it
will start its descent during sample
collection next
osiris-rex will practice flying to the
match point the spacecraft will lower to
within 30 meters of the surface to match
been whose speed and rotation a
necessity for safely touching the
asteroid finally in mid 2020s is Rex
will be ready to collect a sample of
Benno before it descends to the surface
the spacecraft will deploy its
touch-and-go sample acquisition
mechanism or tag Sam a new technology
invented for the mission when it reaches
the Check Point
osiris-rex will begin its final descent
it will pull back its solar arrays for
safety and approach the surface at
centimeters per second the walking pace
of an insect as the tagged Sam touches
down it will blow high-pressure nitrogen
gas into the soil
stirring up loose material a filter
within the sample head will trap rocks
and dirt while allowing the gas to
escape to space once the sample is
collected osiris-rex will fire its
thrusters and back away from Benno
retreating to a safe distance with its
precious cargo
following collection osiris-rex will
verify the status of the sample using a
camera called Sam cam this visual
inspection will reveal whether any large
debris is still attached to the sample
head which could pose a hazard during
stowage next
osiris-rex will verify the mass of the
sample it will fully extend its tag Sam
arm and perform a spin maneuver
measuring the change in inertia to
determine the samples mass if at least
60 grams have been collected in the
sample head is clear of hazardous debris
mission planners will command the
spacecraft to stow the sample stow cam
will watch closely as the sample head
enters the return capsule and is secured
in place
osiris-rex will then detach the tag Sam
arm from the head seal the sample return
capsule and prepare for its journey back
to earth after departing from Benno in
early 2021 osiris-rex will return to
earth in late 2023 4 hours prior to
arrival the spacecraft will release the
sample return capsule then deflect away
from earth to its final orbit as its
piece of Benno comes home the capsule
will enter the atmosphere over the night
side of Earth streaking towards the
central California coastline at over 12
km/s west of the Great Salt Lake at an
altitude of approximately 33 kilometers
the capsule will initiate its parachute
sequence stabilizing and slowing its
descent upon landing in the Utah desert
the sample will be recovered carefully
removed from the capsule and taken to
the osiris-rex curation facility at
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston
Texas this pristine material from the
early solar system will be studied for
decades to come
providing clues to the formation of the
planets to the evolution of Earth into
the ingredients that were present at the
origins of life
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