NASA has just landed in asteroid Bennu – The journey of OSIRIS-REx mission

OSIRIS-REx spacecraft of NASA has successfully landed on the surface of Bennu. 

Few days ago, OSIRIS-REx spacecraft of NASA has successfully landed on the surface of asteroid Bennu. What is the reason behind this mission of NASA and what did it achieve? In this article, we are going to discuss about this mission in details.

Fig: OSIRIS REx SpaceCraft has landed 

     on the surface of Asteroid-Bennu

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What will we discuss here?

1)Introduction to Asteroid Bennu

2)Introduction to OSIRIS-REx mission

3)Instrument used in OSIRIS-REx spacecraft

4)When did OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft approach near to the asteroid Bennu?

5)When did OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft land on Bennu?

6) What will we achieve from this mission after this success?

7)When will OSIRIS-REx spacecraft return to the Earth from Bennu?

8)Future aspect of this mission

9)Conclusion

Introduction to Asteroid Bennu

Asteroid Bennu (101955) was discovered on 11 September 1999 having mass 78 billion kg and 490 meter mean diameter. It orbits sun with the orbital velocity of 28 km/s.

It is kept in category of potentially hazardous object. Potentially hazardous object means the object ( it may be asteroid or comet) with an orbit and has potential to damage in the impact. There is 1 in 2700 chance of impacting the Earth by Bennu in between 2175 AD to 2199 AD.

Fig: Asteroid Bennu

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Introduction to OSIRIS-REx mission

OSIRIS-Rex is composed of several word i.e. Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security and Regolith Explorer. It was launched on 8 September 2016 having launch mass of 2,110 kg.

This mission is operated by NASA and its primary goal is to collect a sample from Asteroid Bennu of at least 60 gram and return to the Earth for a detailed study.

The duration of this mission is of seven years in which four years and one month have elapsed. This spacecraft will spend its rest of the time in the asteroid.

Fig: OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft

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Instrument used in OSIRIS-REx spacecraft

OCAMS

OCAMS (OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite) consist of PolyCam, MapCam, and SamCam.

PolyCam

It is a telescope having high resolution for the best quality images.

MapCam

It is for mapping of Bennu, infrared channels and so on.

SamCam

It continuously records the data of samples.

OVIRS

OVIRS ( OSIRIS-REx Visible and IR Spectrometer) is spectrometer which maps carbonates, silicate, water, organic compounds and such other things in the surface of asteroid.

 

OTES

OTES (OSIRIS-REx Thermal Emission Spectrometer) maps the thermal spectrum of samples like minerals, organic compound, etc.

 

REXIS

REXIS (Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer) provides X-ray vision of asteroid and elements present in it.

 

OLA

OLA (OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter) is scanning instrument which provides high resolution topographic data during the mission.

 

TAGSAM

TAGSAM (Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) is a system which collects sample from the surface of the asteroid.

When did OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft approach near to the asteroid Bennu?

On 3 December 2018, NASA observed that OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft had caught the orbit and the speed of Bennu at a distance of about 19 km.

After that, on 31 December 2018, it orbited around Bennu at about 1.75 km. This became the first ever closest distance that any spacecraft has orbited a celestial body.

At the end, it entered again to a closer making a radius of 1 km. 

Fig: OSIRES REx Spacecraft approaching

 toAsteroid-Bennu

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When did OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft land on Bennu?

After the spacecraft reached to the orbit of Bennu, NASA started to study its surface for a suitable landing spot. Finally, they found a place in Bennu named Nightingale which is relatively smooth covered by fine  rocky  dust called regolith.

Ultimately, the time was over and OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has successfully landed on the surface of Bennu on 20 October 2020.

Fig: OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft is

landing on Asteroid Bennu

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What will we achieve from this mission after this success?

OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has collected a sample from Bennu.

Asteroid contains different particles after the formation of our solar system. Similarly, Bennu might contain such things due to which unsolved mysteries of our solar system might be solved.

So, scientists are hoping that this mission will give some information on how our solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago after examining the sample of Bennu.

When will OSIRIS-REx spacecraft return to the Earth from Bennu?

After successful landing on the Bennu, NASA is now preparing this spacecraft for safely returning to the Earth. It will leave Bennu in March 2021 to begin its journey to the Earth.

On 24 September 2023, it will enter into atmosphere of the Earth and land on Utah Desert by the help of Parachute.

Future aspect of this mission

Hayabusa 2 mission of JAXA (Japanese Space Agency) went to ‘162173 Ryugu’ asteroid in June 2018 to collect sample and will return to Earth on 6 December 2020.

Both NASA and JAXA has signed an agreement to exchange their sample and research as they both are having similar mission at this time.

Lets hope, they will do best in the exploration of unsolved mysteries of our solar system.

Conclusion

We have many things to explore new and news dicoveries of our solar system. Various missions are sent to the outer space time to time. Our curiosity also increases day by day. After examining the sample of Bennu, this mission will give answer to our various questions.

 

References:

1) Wikipedia (OSIRIS-REx, Bennu)

2) Forbes 

3) BBC

4) Business Insider