NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collects significant amount of asteroid Bennu
Washington: Two days after touching down on asteroid Bennu, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission staff HAS obtained photos that verify the spacecraft has collected greater than sufficient materials to satisfy one in all its principal mission necessities – buying at the very least 2 ounces (60 grams) of the asteroid’s floor materials.
“The spacecraft captured images of the sample collector head as it moved through several different positions. In reviewing these images, the OSIRIS-REx team noticed both that the head appeared to be full of asteroid particles, and that some of these particles appeared to be escaping slowly from the sample collector, called the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) head. They suspect bits of material are passing through small gaps where a mylar flap – the collector’s lid – is slightly wedged open by larger rocks,” mentioned NASA in an official assertion.
“Bennu continues to surprise us with great science and also throwing a few curveballs,” mentioned Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s affiliate administrator for science.
He added, “And although we may have to move more quickly to stow the sample, it’s not a bad problem to have. We are so excited to see what appears to be an abundant sample that will inspire science for decades beyond this historic moment.”
The NASA mentioned that the staff believes it has collected a enough pattern and is on a path to stow the pattern as shortly as attainable and that they got here to this conclusion after evaluating photos of the empty collector head with October 22 photos of the TAGSAM head after the pattern assortment occasion.
“The images also show that any movement to the spacecraft and the TAGSAM instrument may lead to further sample loss. To preserve the remaining material, the mission team decided to forego the Sample Mass Measurement activity originally scheduled for Saturday, October 24 and canceled a braking burn scheduled for Friday to minimize any acceleration to the spacecraft,” mentioned NASA.
The NASA acknowledged that from right here, the OSIRIS-Rex staff will give attention to stowing the pattern within the Sample Return Capsule (SRC), the place any free materials might be saved protected in the course of the spacecraft’s journey again to Earth.
“We are working to keep up with our own success here, and my job is to safely return as large a sample of Bennu as possible,” mentioned Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator on the University of Arizona in Tucson, who leads the science staff and the mission’s science commentary planning and knowledge processing.
He added, “The loss of mass is of concern to me, so I’m strongly encouraging the team to stow this precious sample as quickly as possible.”
“The TAGSAM head performed the sampling event in optimal conditions. Newly available analyses show that the collector head was flush with Bennu’s surface when it made contact and when the nitrogen gas bottle was fired to stir surface material. It also penetrated several centimeters into the asteroid’s surface material. All data so far suggest that the collector head is holding much more than 2 ounces of regolith,” mentioned NASA.
“OSIRIS-REx remains in good health, and the mission team is finalizing a timeline for sample storage. An update will be provided once a decision is made on the sample storage timing and procedures,” they added.
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