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NASA mission successfully touched down on asteroid Bennu

  
Via:  Just Jim NC TttH  •  4 years ago  •  51 comments

By:   Ashley Strickland (MSN)

NASA mission successfully touched down on asteroid Bennu
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully touched down and reached out its robotic arm to collect a sample from the surface of near-Earth asteroid Bennu on Tuesday. 

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This is pretty damned cool I don't care who you are.


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NASA mission successfully touched down on asteroid Bennu

After orbiting the near-Earth asteroid Bennu for nearly two years, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully touched down and reached out its robotic arm to collect a sample from the asteroid's surface on Tuesday.

© NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona NASA's OSIRIS-REx is ready for touchdown on asteroid Bennu. On Aug. 11, the mission will perform its "Matchpoint" rehearsal -- the second practice run of the Touch-and-Go  sample collection event. The rehearsal will be similar to the Apr. 14 "Checkpoint" rehearsal, which practiced the first two maneuvers of the descent, but this time the spacecraft will add a third maneuver, called the Matchpoint burn, and fly even closer to sample site Nightingale -- reaching an altitude of approximately 131 ft (40 m) -- before backing away from the asteroid. This artist's rendering shows OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid's surface.

That sample will be returned to Earth in 2023.

To achieve this historic first for NASA, a van-size spacecraft had to briefly touch down its arm in a landing site called Nightingale. The site is the width of a few parking spaces.

The arm reached out to collect a sample, which could be between 2 ounces and 2 kilograms. Then, the spacecraft backed away to safety.

Everything went perfectly based on the data returned by the spacecraft, according to Dante Lauretta, the mission's principal investigator and a professor at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. He said he feels "transcendent" and the team is "exuberant" based on the current data.

On Tuesday night, the OSIRIS-REx team will go through the data being sent back by the spacecraft.

"After over a decade of planning, the team is overjoyed at the success of today's sampling attempt," Lauretta said in a statement. "Even though we have some work ahead of us to determine the outcome of the event -- the successful contact, the TAGSAM gas firing, and back-away from Bennu are major accomplishments for the team. I look forward to analyzing the data to determine the mass of sample collected."

The agency will be able to confirm if a sample was successfully collected later and images of the event will be available Wednesday on NASA's site.

"This was an incredible feat -- and today we've advanced both science and engineering and our prospects for future missions to study these mysterious ancient storytellers of the solar system," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in a statement. "A piece of primordial rock that has witnessed our solar system's entire history may now be ready to come home for generations of scientific discovery, and we can't wait to see what comes next."

The site itself is nestled within a crater the size of a tennis court and ringed in building-size boulders.

Located more than 200 million miles from Earth, Bennu is a boulder-studded asteroid shaped like a spinning top and as tall as the Empire State Building. It's a "rubble pile" asteroid, which is a grouping of rocks held together by gravity rather than a single object.

The mission -- which stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer -- launched in September 2016.

Since arriving at Bennu, the spacecraft and its cameras have been collecting and sending back data and images to help the team learn more about the asteroid's composition and map the best potential landing sites to collect samples.

The main event of the mission is the Touch-and-Go sample collection event, or TAG, that occurred today.

Bennu has an orbit that brings it close to Earth, which is why it's considered to be a near-Earth asteroid. One of its future approaches could bring it perilously close to Earth sometime in the next century; it has a one in 2,700 chance of impacting our planet.

The samples from Bennu could help scientists understand not only more about asteroids that could impact Earth but also about how planets formed and life began.

"Today's TAG maneuver was historic," said Lori Glaze, Planetary Science Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in a statement. "The fact that we safely and successfully touched the surface of Bennu, in addition to all the other milestones this mission has already achieved, is a testament to the living spirit of exploration that continues to uncover the secrets of the solar system."

Waiting for the moment


Rather than the so-called "seven minutes of terror" of trying to land the Perseverance rover on Mars next year, the OSIRIS-REx team has experienced "4.5 hours of mild anxiousness," according to Beth Buck, the mission's operations program manager at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado.

The event officially started at 1:57 p.m. ET.

During this time, the spacecraft descended from its orbit around the asteroid and came close enough to touch it.

The asteroid and spacecraft are currently about 207 million miles from Earth, which cause a communication delay of about 18.5 minutes between the mission's team and the spacecraft.

The team at NASA has been sharing animations on the mission's Twitter account depicting what is occurring based on the commands that have already been sent to OSIRIS-REx hours ahead for the sample collection sequence.

A livestream also began at 5 p.m. ET on NASA's site that shares animations and insight from the mission team as they explain the data they're receiving.

The spacecraft performed the entire sequence of approaching the asteroid and collecting the sample autonomously since live commands from Earth were not possible.

Touching down on an asteroid


The event took about 4.5 hours total to unfold and the spacecraft executed three maneuvers to collect the sample.

The spacecraft fired thrusters to leave its safe orbit around the asteroid, which is about 2,500 feet away from the surface, and traveled for a total of four hours before reaching just 410 feet away. Then, the spacecraft adjusted for position and speed to continue descending.

OSIRIS-REx then slowed its descent to target a path so it matched the asteroid's rotation during contact. Its solar panels folded into a Y-wing configuration above the spacecraft to protect them.

At last, OSIRIS-REx touched down for less than 16 seconds. The spacecraft fired a pressurized nitrogen bottle into the asteroid, using the gas as a way to lift material off Bennu's surface.

If sample collection occurred as planned, the spacecraft's collector head captured the stirred up material. This head, located on the 11-foot-long robotic sampling arm, is the only part of the spacecraft that touched Bennu. The team compares it to an air filter in an older model car, perfect for collecting fine material.

Small discs, which can collect dust like sticky pads, are also located on the head in case part of the sampling maneuver didn't go according to plan.

After the event


A camera on the spacecraft has captured footage of the collection event.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was tasked with detecting hazards and delaying its own mission if any obstacles were to get in the way of the sample collection. Based on its simulations, the team estimated there was less than a 6% chance the spacecraft would abort the mission.

Imagery will be returned by the spacecraft on Wednesday, which will provide more details of the sample collection and how the spacecraft is faring.

"It's hard to put into words how exciting it was to receive confirmation that the spacecraft successfully touched the surface and fired one of the gas bottles," said Michael Moreau, OSIRIS-REx deputy project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in a statement.

"Our first indication of whether we were successful in collecting a sample will come on October 21 when we downlink the back-away movie from the spacecraft," Moreau said. "If TAG made a significant disturbance of the surface, we likely collected a lot of material."

The team estimates that they will have a mass measurement of the sample on Saturday. By October 30, NASA will confirm if the spacecraft collected enough of a sample or if it needs to make another sample collection attempt in January at another landing site called Osprey.

But if everything runs smoothly, the spacecraft and its prized sample will begin the long journey back to Earth next year and land the sample on Earth in 2023.

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Just Jim NC TttH
Professor Principal
1  seeder  Just Jim NC TttH    4 years ago

No politics. 

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
1.1  Sparty On  replied to  Just Jim NC TttH @1    4 years ago

Pretty damn cool ..... landing on an asteroid.

Wow!

 
 
 
Freefaller
Professor Quiet
1.1.1  Freefaller  replied to  Sparty On @1.1    4 years ago

Agreed it's pretty damn cool, I wish it the best of luck on it's return journey and landing

 
 
 
MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)
Junior Guide
1.2  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)  replied to  Just Jim NC TttH @1    4 years ago
it has a one in 2,700 chance of impacting our planet.

Scary odds considering it's better than winning the lotto.

 
 
 
Greg Jones
Professor Participates
1.3  Greg Jones  replied to  Just Jim NC TttH @1    4 years ago

This is being discussed on NASA TV right now. 352 on Direct TV

Probably tomorrow also.

NOVA will have a story about it tonight on PBS

Hard to believe the complexity and precision required for maneuvering the spacecraft on this mission

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
2  Sparty On    4 years ago

Is Bruce Willis still alive?

 
 
 
Just Jim NC TttH
Professor Principal
2.1  seeder  Just Jim NC TttH  replied to  Sparty On @2    4 years ago

jrSmiley_10_smiley_image.gif

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
3  Vic Eldred    4 years ago

It's good to see the US is back to space exploration.

 
 
 
Just Jim NC TttH
Professor Principal
3.1  seeder  Just Jim NC TttH  replied to  Vic Eldred @3    4 years ago

It is indeed. And three years from now it will be back. The US at its best.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
3.1.1  Vic Eldred  replied to  Just Jim NC TttH @3.1    4 years ago

Private corporations are developing commercial space travel. NASA continues to explore and the US military has a new branch - The Space Force. Ahhh...If only I could live long enough to see how it plays out.

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
3.1.2  Sparty On  replied to  Vic Eldred @3.1.1    4 years ago

Space Marines ...... OUTSTANDING!

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
3.1.3  Vic Eldred  replied to  Sparty On @3.1.2    4 years ago

quote-the-deadliest-weapon-in-the-world-is-a-marine-and-his-rifle-john-j-pershing-55-34-27.jpg

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
3.1.4  Sparty On  replied to  Vic Eldred @3.1.3    4 years ago

Or in this case their "laser" rifles

jrSmiley_9_smiley_image.gif

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
3.1.5  Vic Eldred  replied to  Sparty On @3.1.4    4 years ago

Imagine Marines with laser rifles!

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
3.1.6  Jasper2529  replied to  Vic Eldred @3.1.1    4 years ago
If only I could live long enough to see how it plays out.

We'll see some of it. Development moves far more quickly than before.

Two of my grandparents lived from gaslight and horse/buggy days to electricity, automobiles, airplanes, and then the USA landing on the moon and they thought these were amazing. (They were!)

I was an awestruck child watching Alan Shepard's and John Glenn's achievements and an awestruck young adult watching the moon landing. Then, the Internet. I, too, am amazed.

We most likely won't see full developments for The Space Force, but I look forward to the coming years!  

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
3.1.7  Sparty On  replied to  Vic Eldred @3.1.5    4 years ago

You bet and they will likely be hand me downs from the Army

jrSmiley_9_smiley_image.gif

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
3.1.8  Sparty On  replied to  Jasper2529 @3.1.6    4 years ago

Hey, i've lived from no PC's to what we have today, landlines to smart phones, no internet to internet, eight track to cassette to CD's to digital, 8mm to VHS to DVD to digital, MRI's, CT scanners, Radiation treatment, arthroscopic surgery, moon landings, the mapping of the human genome etc, etc

Tons of amazing things have happened in MY lifetime

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
3.1.9  Jasper2529  replied to  Sparty On @3.1.8    4 years ago

Same with me!

We first got dial-up service in the mid-1990s, and that noise still sets my teeth on edge! LOL!

 
 
 
evilone
Professor Guide
3.1.10  evilone  replied to  Jasper2529 @3.1.9    4 years ago
that noise still sets my teeth on edge!

I have been thinking of making that my ring tone for some time now. I haven't because it is damned annoying but I still want to because it's damned annoying. LOL!

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
3.1.11  Sparty On  replied to  Jasper2529 @3.1.9    4 years ago

Yeah, another huge one for its time .... fax machines and the modem

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
3.1.12  Sparty On  replied to  Jasper2529 @3.1.9    4 years ago

I feel like Skynet is about to attack when i hear that ....

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
3.1.13  Jasper2529  replied to  Sparty On @3.1.8    4 years ago
no internet to internet

This was my Internet for over 35 years:

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
3.1.14  Sparty On  replied to  Jasper2529 @3.1.13    4 years ago

Lol ... mine to for quite awhile ..... i was at war with the cable company at the time.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
3.1.15  Vic Eldred  replied to  Jasper2529 @3.1.6    4 years ago

I can still remember coming home one day and my father saying "can you imagine they got those guys back" - regarding the Apollo 13 rescue.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
3.1.16  Vic Eldred  replied to  Sparty On @3.1.7    4 years ago
You bet and they will likely be hand me downs from the Army

It used to be the Navy, right?

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
3.1.17  Sparty On  replied to  Vic Eldred @3.1.16    4 years ago

Not grunt stuff.   Most of that came from the Army.

 
 
 
XXJefferson51
Senior Guide
3.3  XXJefferson51  replied to  Vic Eldred @3    4 years ago

It is indeed.  [deleted] The space force, exploration, colonization, resource tapping, all big time musts.  4G Being installed soon on the moon in anticipation of permanent settlements and bases, including a mars mission.  

 
 
 
MrFrost
Professor Expert
3.3.1  MrFrost  replied to  XXJefferson51 @3.3    4 years ago
No politics. 

 
 
 
Gordy327
Professor Expert
5  Gordy327    4 years ago

This is one small example of why science needs to be funded, supported, and encouraged.

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
5.1  Sparty On  replied to  Gordy327 @5    4 years ago

Ah yes an age old debate.

Do you buy space vehicles that can land on asteroids or food to feed starving people.

I can argue both sides of that debate equally well.

 
 
 
Gordy327
Professor Expert
5.1.1  Gordy327  replied to  Sparty On @5.1    4 years ago

That sounds more like a fiscal resource allocation debate. Btw, science has also improved agriculture so more people can be fed. It's science that will solve such problems. 

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
5.1.2  Sparty On  replied to  Gordy327 @5.1.1    4 years ago
That sounds more like a fiscal resource allocation debate.

Of course it is.

For the most part it doesn't happen by osmosis.

If it's not "funded" it doesn't happen.   Funds that are spent on science don't directly feed anyone.   People who are already starving don't much care what future Ag innovations science might bring.

 
 
 
Gordy327
Professor Expert
5.1.3  Gordy327  replied to  Sparty On @5.1.2    4 years ago

Feeding people is great. But adequate food sources is necessary. Overpopulation doesn't help either. Science has helped expand and improve agricultural production, which does feed people. Adequate funding of science only further improves possible improvements and discoveries (not just limited to agriculture too), especially over the long term. If funding is the issue, then funds can be reallocated from other sources or programs and put into scientific development, agricultural production, and other similar programs.

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
5.1.4  Sparty On  replied to  Gordy327 @5.1.3    4 years ago

Answer me one rhetorical question.

My family is starving.   Why are you spending money landing on a asteroid when we are starving to death?

 
 
 
Gordy327
Professor Expert
5.1.5  Gordy327  replied to  Sparty On @5.1.4    4 years ago

Money isn't going to do much if food is not available to begin with.

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
5.1.6  Sparty On  replied to  Gordy327 @5.1.5    4 years ago

More food isn't going to do any good if the people have already starved to death.

Chicken and egg scenario ..... like i said, i can debate it from either side equally well.

 
 
 
Gordy327
Professor Expert
5.1.7  Gordy327  replied to  Sparty On @5.1.6    4 years ago

Greater food availability and improved agriculture will help prevent starvation. Can't do anything about those who starved. But we can help prevent future starvation. 

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
5.1.8  Sparty On  replied to  Gordy327 @5.1.7    4 years ago

Yeah, this is going in the usual direction with you.

Have nice day Gordy ....

 
 
 
Gordy327
Professor Expert
5.1.9  Gordy327  replied to  Sparty On @5.1.8    4 years ago

You're the one who said you can debate either side. If you don't care to debate, or discuss, that's up to you.

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
5.1.10  Sparty On  replied to  Gordy327 @5.1.9    4 years ago

Have a  nice day Gordy

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
6  Buzz of the Orient    4 years ago
"But if everything runs smoothly, the spacecraft and its prized sample will begin the long journey back to Earth next year and land the sample on Earth in 2023."

Has anyone ever seen a Sci-Fi movie about something coming to Earth from outer space that has a deadly virus of sorts?  Wasn't The Andromeda Strain about that?  Isn't anyone worried?

 
 
 
Freefaller
Professor Quiet
6.1  Freefaller  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @6    4 years ago
Isn't anyone worried?

I can't speak for other but I'm not worried and yes that's what the Andromeda strain was about

 
 
 
MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)
Junior Guide
6.2  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @6    4 years ago

With the cluster eff of 2020... I'm absolutely worried "we're" bringing something alien back.

 
 
 
Gordy327
Professor Expert
6.2.1  Gordy327  replied to  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka) @6.2    4 years ago

One interesting thought is, did meteor strikes on Earth in the past bring biological agents like viruses to Earth in the 1st place? Of course, that's dealing with panspermia.

 
 
 
MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)
Junior Guide
6.2.2  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka)  replied to  Gordy327 @6.2.1    4 years ago

Honestly Gordy, I have no idea. But to me, anything is possible.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
6.2.3  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka) @6.2.2    4 years ago

Maybe one landed in Wuhan.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
6.2.4  Vic Eldred  replied to  MsAubrey (aka Ahyoka) @6.2.2    4 years ago
But to me, anything is possible.

For what it's worth:



NINTCHDBPICT000477559629.jpg

SpaceX is a cash-flushed rocket company that wants to take man to Mars.

It was set up by eccentric billionaire Elon Musk in 2002 and is based in Hawthorne, California.

SpaceX's first aim was to build rockets that could autonomously land back on Earth and be re-used.

Musk hoped the technology would make flying and operating space flights far cheaper.

SpaceX currently uses its reusable rockets to fly cargo to the International Space Station for Nasa.

 
 

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