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On August 17, 2018, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft got its first images of its target, the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. OSIRIS-REx was about 1.4 million miles (2.2 million kilometers) from Bennu at the time.
Credit: NASA / Goddard / University of Arizona
NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sampling probe is moving out of pure tracking mode.
OSIRIS-REx, which was launched in September 2016 towards the near-Earth asteroid of 500 meters (1,640 feet) wide, begins studying the spatial rock from today onwards. (September 11), announced the members of the mission team.
"The big day for @OSIRISREx – we start our first scientific observations – looking for dust plumes around Bennu", said via Twitter today Dante Lauretta, senior mission scientist at the Lunar and Global Laboratory University of Arizona. [OSIRIS-REx: NASA’s Asteroid Sample-Return Mission in Pictures]
A better understanding of Bennu's dusty environment will help keep OSIRIS-REx safe as the asteroid approaches later this year, officials at NASA said. The spacecraft is expected to reach Bennu on December 3 and slide into orbit around the space rock four weeks later, on December 31.
OSIRIS-REx – whose name is short for "Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security – Regolith Explorer" – will continue to study Bennu for some time since the orbit. Then, in the middle of 2020, it will descend to the surface of the asteroid and recover a sample of material that will return to Earth in a special return capsule in September 2023.
Scientists around the world will examine this cosmic land and gravel, looking for clues about the early days of the solar system and the role that carbon-rich asteroids such as Bennu have brought to the earth.
Great day for @OSIRISREx – we start our first scientific observations – looking for dust plumes around Bennu
– Dante Lauretta (@DSLauretta) September 11, 2018
The sample should also be of interest to asteroid miners as it should reveal details of Bennu's resource potential and other space rocks like this, mission team members said.
The $ 800 million OSIRIS-REx mission will also contribute to global defense efforts. For example, the probe's observations should help researchers better understand the forces that shape the trajectories of potentially dangerous asteroids in space, Lauretta said at a press conference at NASA last month. (Bennu himself is potentially dangerous, he is very unlikely to reach Earth at the end of the 22nd century.)
OSIRIS-REx is not the only currently active asteroid sampling spacecraft. The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 has arrived at its goal, the great Ryug asteroid, this summer and is currently training for its first touch maneuver, to be held next month.
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @ michaeldwall and Google+. follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally posted on Space.com.
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