"Whole trip in a PHOTO": NASA captures the Earth, the Moon and the asteroid together



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The spectacular photograph, which represents the Earth, Moon and Bennu on a single image, was taken while the space probe was about 114 million kilometers from our planet and about 43 kilometers from the asteroid .

NASA released an image, captured by the OSIRIS-REx robotic probe on December 19, before it revolves around the asteroid Bennu on December 31.

The photo was made public through the display of the US Space Agency in the project's official account. Bennu is visible to the right of the image, while the Earth and its natural satellite are on the left. In addition, part of the constellation of hydra is observed in the lower right corner.

A Journey into a Setting …

Orbital A, my team uses images like these "OpNav" to keep me on the right track. Details of the image: https://t.co/qMT1e9cqxZ pic.twitter.com/MRb7uO1yX1

– OSIRIS-REx of NASA (@OSIRISREx) on January 4, 2019 [19659007] A complete trip in a photo … My navigation camera captured this image of the Earth, Moon and Bennu before entering orbit

In Orbit, My Team used images of type "OpNav" (optical navigation) like these Show me the way

OSIRIS-REx was launched in September 2016 in order to bring to Earth a sample of surface materials from Bennu, one of the closest asteroids to Earth and potentially dangerous to our planet. From August to December 2018, the satellite completed the last 2.2 kilometers of its trip to finally get close to a 19-kilometer distance from the asteroid on December 3.

After a few days, the spacecraft discovers strong spectral evidence for the presence of molecules containing bound oxygen and hydrogen atoms, called "hydroxyl", meaning that the material This asteroid 's rocky interacted with the water at one point.

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