OSIRIS-REx: NASA's First Asteroid Sample Delivery To Earth To Take Place Tonight. All About It
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">OSIRIS-REx, NASA's first asteroid sample delivery mission, is set to return pristine material from asteroid Bennu on September 24, 2023. Bennu was </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">earlier known as 1999 RQ36. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">OSIRIS-REx stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security — Regolith Explorer. After OSIRIS-REx enters the Earth's atmosphere, it will release the sample return capsule which will make a landing in the Utah desert. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">OSIRIS-REx was launched on September 8, 2016, and reached Bennu in December 2018. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">OSIRIS-REx collected rocks and dust from Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid, in 2020, after mapping the asteroid for two years. </span></p> <p><strong>MUST READ | <a title="Science For Everyone: How Clean, Green And Renewable Energies Are Similar To And Different From Each Other" href="https://ift.tt/ueHB7Js" target="_self">Science For Everyone: How Clean, Green And Renewable Energies Are Similar To And Different From Each Other</a></strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On May 10, 2021, OSIRIS-REx departed Bennu's vicinity. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bennu has spent seven years in space. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is important to study these materials because they might provide insights into what the universe was like when the Sun and planets of the solar system were forming 4.5 billion years ago. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">OSIRIS-REX’s sample return will be a major milestone for the US because this will mark the country's first-ever mission to return an asteroid sample to Earth. </span></p> <p><strong>MUST READ | <a title="Libya, Greece, Spain Are Among 10 Different Regions Affected By Floods In A Short Span. Know How It's Related To Climate Change" href="https://ift.tt/eW1bJTH" target="_self">Libya, Greece, Spain Are Among 10 Different Regions Affected By Floods In A Short Span. Know How It's Related To Climate Change</a></strong></p> <h3><span style="color: #843fa1;"><strong>How will OSIRIS-REx’s asteroid sample be recovered?</strong></span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Delivering the asteroid sample to Earth is a challenging mission, because OSIRIS-REx will have to protect the sample from heat, vibrations and earthly contaminations. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">OSIRIS-REx is expected to bring asteroid material of mass 250 grams ± 101 grams to the Earth. This is the largest asteroid sample ever received on the Earth. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The sample return capsule is scheduled to land in the Utah western desert on September 24, at 10:55 am EDT (8:25 pm IST). According to NASA, the sample return capsule will land within a 58 kilometre × 14 kilometre ellipse located inside the US Department of Defense property. </span></p> <p><strong>MUST READ | <a title="Sustainable Water Management, Local Adaptation, Urban Planning – How India Can Evade Adverse Climate Change Impacts" href="https://ift.tt/hfPL3v7" target="_self">Sustainable Water Management, Local Adaptation, Urban Planning – How India Can Evade Adverse Climate Change Impacts</a></strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since the capsule has no global positioning system (GPS) or beacon that will allow it to be tracked, NASA and the US Air Force will use tracking cameras on the ground and in the air to locate the sample capsule. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After touchdown, the sample return capsule will be secured and taken to a portable clean room. Next, the heat shield, back shell and other components will be removed, to prepare the sample canister for transport to Houston.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Recovery helicopters will fly the capsule to the temporary clean room at the Dugway Proving Ground, a US Army Facility in the Utah Test and Training Range. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The asteroid return sample will be transported to NASA's Johnson Space Center on September 25. </span></p> <p><strong>MUST READ | <a title="Fossil Fuel Treaty Necessary For 'Just And Socially Equitable' Clean Energy Transition: Experts On How To Achieve Net Zero By 2050" href="https://ift.tt/DC7NGrB" target="_self">Fossil Fuel Treaty Necessary For 'Just And Socially Equitable' Clean Energy Transition: Experts On How To Achieve Net Zero By 2050</a></strong></p> <h3><span style="color: #843fa1;"><strong>What will happen after the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample is retrieved?</strong></span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A new laboratory for the material has been built at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Over the next six months, the OSIRIS-REx team will practise and refine the procedures needed to recover the asteroid sample in the Utah desert and transport it to the new laboratory. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the new laboratory, scientists will unpack the sample, distribute up to a quarter of it to the OSIRIS-REx science team around the world for analysis, and curate the rest for other scientists to study. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">NASA will release a sample catalogue about six months after the sample return takes place. Scientists will also be allowed to access samples from Bennu to conduct their research. </span></p> <p><strong>MUST READ | <a title="G20 Summit 2023: How The Green Development Pact Promises To Address Climate Change Challenges" href="https://ift.tt/G4uOPLf" target="_self">G20 Summit 2023: How The Green Development Pact Promises To Address Climate Change Challenges</a></strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A sample analysis team of over 200 members from more than 35 globally distributed institutions will receive portions of samples from Bennu provided by NASA's Johnson Space Center.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">NASA teams will have access to about 25 per cent of the returned sample from Bennu. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will receive four per cent of the total returned sample. The CSA contributed the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA) onboard the spacecraft. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will receive 0.5 per cent of the total returned sample. </span></p> <p><strong>MUST READ | <a title="India Is Way Ahead In Climate Research, But Challenges Like Data Gaps And Resource Constraints Persist: Experts" href="https://ift.tt/LyQgbFs" target="_self">India Is Way Ahead In Climate Research, But Challenges Like Data Gaps And Resource Constraints Persist: Experts</a></strong></p> <h3><span style="color: #843fa1;"><strong>Which other missions have brought back asteroid samples to the Earth?</strong></span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Previous missions that brought asteroid samples back to Earth were the JAXA Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 missions. Hayabusa returned samples from the asteroid Itokawa, and Hayabusa2 returned five grams of asteroid samples from Ryugu in November 2021. About 10 per cent of these samples were shared with NASA. </span></p> <h3><span style="color: #843fa1;"><strong>What will happen to OSIRIS-REx after it has returned samples from Bennu to Earth?</strong></span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">OSIRIS-REx, which is a robotic mission, will not end its journey after returning samples from Bennu. The spacecraft will fire its engines about 20 minutes after returning the sample on September 24, and set off on a new mission to explore asteroid Apophis. After this, the name of OSIRIS-REx will be changed to OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer, or OSIRIS-APEX. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The spacecraft will take six years to reach Apophis. In 2029, the asteroid will also make its closest approach to Earth. </span></p> <p><strong>MUST READ | <a title="Science For Everyone: What Are UFOs? Know Interesting Anecdotes, And How NASA Aims To Track Them" href="https://ift.tt/3tgT6Gn" target="_self">Science For Everyone: What Are UFOs? Know Interesting Anecdotes, And How NASA Aims To Track Them</a></strong></p> <h3><span style="color: #843fa1;"><strong>Why NASA chose Bennu as the target asteroid for OSIRIS-REx</strong></span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scientists wish to understand if asteroids played a role in delivering molecular precursors to life to Earth's surface over four billion years. For this, a pristine sample from space, free from terrestrial contaminants, is required.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are about 10 reasons why NASA chose Bennu as the target asteroid for OSIRIS-REx. These reasons include Bennu's close proximity to the Earth, the asteroid's size, its age, it being a well-preserved asteroid, it containing clues to the origin of life on the Earth, it containing valuable materials, it helping scientists understand other asteroids, it helping astronomers understand a solar phenomenon, it keeping other asteroids at bay, and it being a gift that will keep on giving.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bennu makes its closest approach to the Earth every six years, and has a diameter of 492 metres, which makes it approachable and rich in regolith. </span></p> <p><strong>MUST READ | <a href="https://ift.tt/xmL4GCa Sharing Of Climate Data, Better Drug Traceability — What Blockchain, Web3 Can Do For Climate Science, Healthcare</a></strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since Bennu is a leftover fragment from the formation of the solar system, its mineral fragments could be older than the solar system, and can provide information about dying stars that formed the Sun and the solar system's planets 4.6 billion years ago. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bennu has been preserved in the vacuum of space, and hence, is a time capsule from the early solar system.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The asteroid is rich in carbon, which is the building block of organic materials. Since organic materials are present in all life forms, analysing Bennu's samples may provide insights into the origin of life on the Earth. </span></p> <div class="article-data _thumbBrk uk-text-break"> <p><strong>MUST READ | <a title="Global Group Signs Open Letter Calling For World Leaders To Agree At COP28 To Triple Renewable Energy Capacity By 2030" href="https://ift.tt/3CjNMDW" target="_self">Global Group Signs Open Letter Calling For World Leaders To Agree At COP28 To Triple Renewable Energy Capacity By 2030</a></strong></p> </div> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Also, Bennu is believed to be rich in iron, aluminium, and platinum, and may contain water. Scientists can experiment ways to extract hydrogen and oxygen from the water locked up in the minerals, and learn how to make rocket fuel. In this way, in the future, asteroids may serve as fuel stations for space exploration missions to Mars and beyond. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since Bennu was discovered in 1999, the asteroid's orbit has drifted about 280 metres per year towards the Sun due to a phenomenon called the Yarkovsky effect. This is a phenomenon in which sunlight warms one side of a small, dark asteroid, and then radiates heat off the asteroid as it rotates. Due to the heat energy, the asteroid is thrust away from the Sun, or towards the Sun, depending on whether the asteroid has a prograde or a retrograde spin. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bennu has a retrograde spin, which means that it rotates in the direction opposite to the direction of its orbit around Earth. As a result, Bennu is being thrust towards the Sun. </span></p> <p><strong>MUST READ | <a title="Aditya-L1: As India’s First Solar Mission Starts Science Experiments, Know What It Will Study About The Sun" href="https://ift.tt/oRvm6VD" target="_self">Aditya-L1: As India’s First Solar Mission Starts Science Experiments, Know What It Will Study About The Sun</a></strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Understanding the Yarkovsky effect is important because it will allow scientists to estimate when a particular asteroid will come close to the Earth. For instance, Bennu is expected to come closer to the Earth than the Moon in 2135. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Such calculations will allow scientists to devise technologies to deflect asteroids, if need be. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finally, analysing the samples returned from Bennu will be like opening a treasure trove of cosmic mysteries.</span></p> <p><strong>MUST READ | <a title="The Science Of Health: Projected Incidence Of Lung Cancer In India By Decade End, And Gene Therapies To Cure It" href="https://ift.tt/tqdp9mO" target="_self">The Science Of Health: Projected Incidence Of Lung Cancer In India By Decade End, And Gene Therapies To Cure It</a></strong></p> <h3><span style="color: #843fa1;"><strong>When and how to watch the landing of the sample return capsule </strong></span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One can watch the landing of OSIRIS-REx's sample return capsule in the Utah desert on the official YouTube channel of NASA, on NASA Television, or on the space agency's official website.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The livestream will begin at 7:30 pm IST on September 24. </span></p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kdwyqctp908?si=FE-RslAmMBI__y2A" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
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