OrbitalHub

NASA dicit:

Near-Earth asteroid Bennu is a rubble pile of rocks and boulders left over from the formation of the solar system. On October 20, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touched down on Bennu and collected a sample for return to Earth. During this “TAG event,” the spacecraft’s arm sank far deeper into the asteroid than expected, confirming that Bennu’s surface is incredibly weak. Now, scientists have used data from OSIRIS-REx to revisit the TAG event and better understand how Bennu’s loose upper layers are held together.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab/SVS/Dan Gallagher (KBRwyle): Producer/Jonathan North (KBRwyle): Lead Animator/Kel Elkins (USRA): Lead Data Visualizer/Alexander Bodnar (AIMM): Animator/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (KBRwyle): Animator/Walt Feimer (KBRwyle): Animator/Lisa Poje (Freelance): Animator/Dan Gallagher (KBRwyle): Narrator/Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona): Lead Scientist/Kevin Walsh (SwRI): Scientist/Ronald Ballouz (JHUAPL): Scientist/Olivier Barnouin (JHUAPL): Scientist/Rani Gran (NASA/GSFC): Public Affairs Officer/Nancy Neal-Jones (NASA/GSFC): Public Affairs Officer/James Tralie (ADNET): Support/Ernie Wright (USRA): Support/Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET): Technical Support

NASA dicit:

On May 10, 2021, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will fire its main thrusters for seven minutes and start its long journey home with more than 60 grams (2.1 ounces) of asteroid material in its Sample Return Capsule.

Video credit: NASA Goddard

NASA dicit:

NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx, will make a daring attempt to “TAG” asteroid Bennu on October 20 – touch its surface and collect a sample for return to Earth. Experience the sample collection event in 360 and watch as OSIRIS-REx contacts the rocky surface of sample site Nightingale on Asteroid Bennu.

Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/James Tralie (ADNET): Lead Producer, Narrator/Jonathan North (USRA): Animator/Walt Feimer (KBRwyle): Animator/Michael Lentz (USRA): Art Director/Kel Elkins (USRA): Lead Visualizer/Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET): Technical Support/ Music is “Fight for the Kingdom” from Enrico Cacace and Lorenzo Castellarin

Wikipedia dicit:

Rehearsals will be performed before the sampling event, during which the solar arrays will be raised into a Y-shaped configuration to minimize the chance of dust accumulation during contact and provide more ground clearance in case the spacecraft tips over (up to 45°) during contact. The descent will be very slow to minimize thruster firings prior to contact in order to reduce the likelihood of asteroid surface contamination by unreacted hydrazine propellant. Contact with the surface of Bennu will be detected using accelerometers, and the impact force will be dissipated by a spring in the TAGSAM arm.

Upon surface contact by the TAGSAM instrument, a burst of nitrogen gas will be released, which will blow regolith particles smaller than 2 centimetres (0.8 in) into the sampler head at the end of the robotic arm. A five-second timer will limit collection time to mitigate the chance of a collision. After the timer expires, the back-away maneuver will initiate a safe departure from the asteroid.

OSIRIS-REx will then halt the drift away from the asteroid in case it is necessary to return for another sampling attempt. The spacecraft will use images and spinning maneuvers to verify the sample has been acquired as well as determine its mass and verify it is in excess of the required 60 grams (2.1 oz). In the event of a failed sampling attempt, the spacecraft will return for another try. There is enough nitrogen gas for three attempts.

In addition to the bulk sampling mechanism, contact pads on the end of the sampling head will passively collect dust grains smaller than 1 mm, upon contact with the asteroid. These pads are made from tiny loops of stainless steel.

After the sampling attempt, the Sample-Return Capsule (SRC) lid will be opened to allow the sampler head to be stowed. The arm will then be retracted into its launch configuration, and the SRC lid will be closed and latched preparing to return to Earth.

Video credit: Lockheed Martin

Wikipedia dicit:

“101955 Bennu (provisional designation 1999 RQ36) is a carbonaceous asteroid in the Apollo group discovered by the LINEAR Project on 11 September 1999. It is a potentially hazardous object that is listed on the Sentry Risk Table with the second-highest cumulative rating on the Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale. It has a cumulative 1-in-2,700 chance of impacting Earth between 2175 and 2199. Its name references Bennu, the ancient Egyptian mythological bird associated with the Sun, creation, and rebirth.

101955 Bennu has a mean diameter of approximately 492 m (1,614 ft; 0.306 mi) and has been observed extensively with the Arecibo Observatory planetary radar and the Goldstone Deep Space Network.

Bennu is the target of the OSIRIS-REx mission which is intended to return samples to Earth in 2023 for further study. On 3 December 2018, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at Bennu after a two-year journey. Before attempting to obtain a sample from the asteroid, it will map out Bennu’s surface in detail and orbit the asteroid to calculate its mass.”

Video Credit: NASA