From Bennu to Apophis : OSIRIS-Rex
Did you know that we came from the stars , that there is stardust in your veins ?
The Origin, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security- Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-Rex) is the first spacecraft launched by the United States of America to collect sample from the nearby asteroid Bennu and deliver it safely back to Earth, which it did on 24th of September, 2023. The spacecraft weighed a whopping 2110 kilograms and was launched on 8th of September, 2016 from Cape Canaveral.
Why chose asteroid Bennu ? Well, there were three reasons. The asteroid is a remnant from the formation of the solar system and thus could possibly provide some insight into our origin. Also, Bennu crosses Earth's orbit and is thus closer than the asteroid belt. Additionally, Bennu also contains some organic compounds that make up and support life on Earth. Even though its orbit crosses the Earth, there is very less probability for an impact event.
The spacecraft contained :
- Camera Suite (PolyCam, MapCam, SamCam) (OCAMS OSIRIS-REx)
- Laser Altimeter (OLA OSIRIS-REx)
- Visible and IR Spectrometer (OVIRS OSIRIS-REx)
- Thermal Emission Spectrometer (OTES OSIRIS-REx)
- Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS OSIRIS-REx) and
- Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM)
OSIRIS-Rex touchdown on Bennu
OSIRIS-Rex arrived on Bennu on 3rd of December, 2018 and collected the sample on the 20th of October, 2020. The spacecraft then completed the first flyover over Bennu on 7th of April, 2021 and set back to Earth on 10th of May, 2021. After delivering the sample back to Earth, the craft was sent on another mission, to the asteroid Apophis, which will be complete sometime in 2029.
The sample will be divided equally among the 233 researchers on the OSIRIS-Rex team working on the spacecraft that represent 38 institutions globally.
-Namitha (MS22118)
Image credits : NASA
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