Asteroid sample incoming: OSIRIS-REx team preps for September landing of Bennu bits

[Judi Lynn]

By Leonard David published about 12 hours ago
Touchdown will occur in Utah on Sept. 24.



A mosaic image of the asteroid Bennu created using observations made by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. (Image credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

LITTLETON, Colorado — As NASA's first mission to collect a sample from an asteroid screams toward Earth, recovery teams are practicing the steps needed to ensure that the extraterrestrial material arrives safely on Earth for detailed scientific inspection.

The scene is here at the Lockheed Martin Space campus, a sprawling facility populated by major aerospace expertise at the ready for deep-diving exploration of the solar system.

On June 27 and June 28, extensive practice preparations were showcased here to help prepare for arrival of the samples collected by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, which will occur in late September.

OSIRIS-REx ("Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer&quot launched in September 2016. It snuggled up to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu in October 2020, and then used hardware at the end of its robotic arm to snag a hefty sample of the space rock.

More:
https://www.space.com/osiris-rex-sample-return-landing-practice?utm_source=notification

[GreenWave]

1. I wonder how much they pay to be an asteroid "bit" catcher?