NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Collects Significant Amount of Asteroid

 

NASA - OSIRIS-REx Mission patch.

Oct. 23, 2020

Two days after touching down on asteroid Bennu, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission team received on Thursday, Oct. 22, images that confirm the spacecraft has collected more than enough material to meet one of its main mission requirements – acquiring at least 2 ounces (60 grams) of the asteroid’s surface material.

Animation above: Captured by the spacecraft’s SamCam camera on Oct. 22, 2020, this series of three images shows that the sampler head on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is full of rocks and dust collected from the surface of the asteroid Bennu. They show also that some of these particles are slowly escaping the sampler head. Analysis by the OSIRIS-REx team suggests that bits of material are passing through small gaps where the head’s mylar flap is slightly wedged open. The mylar flap (the black bulge on the left inside the ring) is designed to keep the collected material locked inside, and these unsealed areas appear to be caused by larger rocks that didn’t fully pass through the flap. Based on available imagery, the team suspects there is plentiful sample inside the head, and is on a path to stow the sample as quickly as possible. Image Credit: NASA.

The spacecraft captured images of the sample collector head as it moved through several different positions. In reviewing these images, the OSIRIS-REx team noticed both that the head appeared to be full of asteroid particles, and that some of these particles appeared to be escaping slowly from the sample collector, called the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) head. They suspect bits of material are passing through small gaps where a mylar flap – the collector’s “lid” – is slightly wedged open by larger rocks.

“Bennu continues to surprise us with great science and also throwing a few curveballs,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for science at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “And although we may have to move more quickly to stow the sample, it’s not a bad problem to have. We are so excited to see what appears to be an abundant sample that will inspire science for decades beyond this historic moment.”

The team believes it has collected a sufficient sample and is on a path to stow the sample as quickly as possible. They came to this conclusion after comparing images of the empty collector head with Oct. 22 images of the TAGSAM head after the sample collection event.

OSIRIS-REx TAGs Surface of Asteroid Bennu. Animation Credit: NASA

The images also show that any movement to the spacecraft and the TAGSAM instrument may lead to further sample loss. To preserve the remaining material, the mission team decided to forego the Sample Mass Measurement activity originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24, and canceled a braking burn scheduled for Friday to minimize any acceleration to the spacecraft.

From here, the OSIRIS-Rex team will focus on stowing the sample in the Sample Return Capsule (SRC), where any loose material will be kept safe during the spacecraft’s journey back to Earth.

“We are working to keep up with our own success here, and my job is to safely return as large a sample of Bennu as possible,” said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona in Tucson, who leads the science team and the mission’s science observation planning and data processing. “The loss of mass is of concern to me, so I’m strongly encouraging the team to stow this precious sample as quickly as possible.”

OSIRIS-REx TAGs Surface of Asteroid Bennu. Image Credit: NASA

The TAGSAM head performed the sampling event in optimal conditions. Newly available analyses show that the collector head was flush with Bennu’s surface when it made contact and when the nitrogen gas bottle was fired to stir surface material. It also penetrated several centimeters into the asteroid’s surface material. All data so far suggest that the collector head is holding much more than 2 ounces of regolith.

OSIRIS-REx remains in good health, and the mission team is finalizing a timeline for sample storage. An update will be provided once a decision is made on the sample storage timing and procedures.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the spacecraft and is providing flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace of Tempe, Arizona, are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Related articles:

OSIRIS-REx TAGs Surface of Asteroid Bennu
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/10/osiris-rex-tags-surface-of-asteroid.html

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Successfully Touches Asteroid
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/10/nasas-osiris-rex-spacecraft.html

Related links:

OSIRIS-REx (Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer): http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/osiris-rex/index.html

Bennu: https://www.nasa.gov/bennu

Animation (mentioned), Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Karen Northon/Grey Hautaluoma/Alana Johnson/GSFC/Nancy Neal Jones/University of Arizona/Erin Morton.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Back to Work for Expedition 64 Trio

 

ISS - Expedition 64 Mission patch.

October 23, 2020

International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA

It is back to work for three Expedition 64 crewmates today following a day of rest on Thursday. The trio is ramping up space research while continuing the upkeep of the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins began her day replacing batteries in devices that detect smoke and compounds in the station’s atmosphere. She then serviced a variety of research hardware including Spectrum which images proteins in fluorescent light. Rubins then worked on a device that applies a known force to a crew member and uses the resulting acceleration to calculate an astronaut’s mass in microgravity.

Image above: Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins works on research hardware inside the Kibo laboratory module. Image Credit: NASA.

Station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov had a light duty day Friday. The two-time resident of the orbiting lab spent some time dusting and cleaning crew quarters before replacing components in the Russian toilet.

First-time space flyer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov inspected Russian hardware today including a food warmer and an onboard control system. The cosmonaut Flight Engineer also configured a pair of laptop computers with assistance from mission specialists on the ground.

Related links:

Expedition 64: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition64/index.html

Spectrum: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7450

Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

NASA’s Refueling Mission Completes Second Set of Robotic Tool Operations in Space

 

ISS - Robotic Refueling Mission 3 (RRM3) patch.

Oct. 23, 2020

NASA’s Robotic Refueling Mission 3 (RRM3) has successfully completed its second set of robotic tool operations on the International Space Station, demonstrating key techniques for transferring cryogenic fluids, used as coolants, propellants, or for life support systems in orbit. These technologies have applications for extending spacecraft life and facilitating exploration to the Moon and Mars.

Images above: Visual Inspection Poseable Invertebrate Robot 2 (VIPIR2) before launch (top left), and in space during operations (top middle, top right); and Cryogen Servicing Tool (CST) before launch (bottom left), and in space during operations (bottom middle, bottom right). Image Credit: NASA.

From October 19-22, RRM3 – with the help of the station’s Dextre robot – connected an 11-foot long hose to a designated cryogen port while simultaneously using an inspection tool to verify the hose connection. This marks the first time that Dextre has had tools in both arms completing RRM3 operations. RRM3 supplied the hose and robotic tools of a future servicer spacecraft, as well as a piping system representing that of a satellite in need of fueling.

Images above: For the first time, Dextre simultaneously uses its two arms to wield robotic refueling tools. The right arm uses the Cryogen Servicing Tool to maneuver a cryogen hose, and the left uses Visual Inspection Poseable Invertebrate Robot 2, an inspection camera, to verify placement. Images Credit: NASA.

During the demonstration, Dextre simultaneously operated two RRM3 tools: the Cryogen Servicing Tool (CST) and the Visual Inspection Poseable Invertebrate Robot 2 (VIPIR2) tool. One of Dextre’s arms held the CST, which was needed to grab and guide the hose into the port. The second arm extended the snake-like VIPIR2 camera into the piping system to ensure the hose was inserted correctly.

Images above: The Visual Inspection Poseable Invertebrate Robot 2 (VIPIR2), extends its snake-like borescope camera for free-space checkout, to later be inserted into the RRM3 module’s piping system to verify proper cryogen hose placement. Images Credit: NASA.

The mission launched in December 2018 and conducted its first set of robotic operations in August 2019, during which it demonstrated its Multi-Function Tool 2 and a robotic-friendly hose adapter system. This RRM3 demonstration added experience and information to NASA’s knowledge base on transferring cryogenic fuel in space.

Image above: The Cryogen Servicing Tool allows Dextre to maneuver the 11-ft long cryogen hose to a port on the RRM3 module. Image Credit: NASA.

Prior to an April 2019 venting operation, RRM3 stored liquid methane for four months, the longest in-space storage of a cryogen without any loss of fluid. This record had been difficult to achieve previously because cryogens vaporize in a process called boil-off when not maintained at a low enough temperature.

Image above: The International Space Station's Dextre robotic arm uses the Visual Inspection Poseable Invertebrate Robot 2 (VIPIR2) tool to complete operations on Robotic Refueling Mission 3 (RRM3). Image Credit: NASA.

RRM3 was developed and operated by NASA’s Exploration and In-space Services (NExIS) projects division (formerly known as the Satellite Servicing Projects Division) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The demonstration was funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Technology Demonstration Missions program, which is located at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Related article:

Robotic Tool Operations Bring In-Space Refueling Closer to Reality
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/08/robotic-tool-operations-bring-in-space.html

Related links:

Robotic Refueling Mission 3 (RRM3): https://sspd.gsfc.nasa.gov/RRM3.html

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

NASA’s Exploration and In-space Services (NExIS): https://sspd.gsfc.nasa.gov/

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC): https://www.nasa.gov/goddard

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Isabelle Yan/Goddard Space Flight Center, by Vanessa Lloyd and Isabelle Yan.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Space Station Science Highlights: Week of October 19, 2020

 

ISS - Expedition 64 Mission patch.

Oct. 23, 2020

During the week of Oct. 19, scientific investigations conducted aboard the International Space Station included studies of accelerated aging in space, spaceflight food systems, and adaptive responses to living in space. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner departed the station Oct. 21, marking the beginning of Expedition 64.

Image above: NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy and Kate Rubins answer questions during a public affairs event. The two crew members overlapped for a week together on the station; Rubins arrived on Oct. 14 and Cassidy departed on Oct. 21. Image Credit: NASA.

Now in its 20th year of continuous human presence, the space station provides a platform for long-duration research in microgravity and for learning to live and work in space. Experience gained on the orbiting lab supports Artemis, NASA’s program to go forward to the Moon and on to Mars.

Here are details on some of the microgravity investigations currently taking place:

Putting the brakes on accelerated aging

The crew collected blood and urine samples for Phospho-aging Mechanism of Accelerated Aging Under Microgravity (Phospho-aging), an investigation from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The study examines molecular mechanisms behind aging-like symptoms that occur more rapidly in microgravity, such as bone and muscle loss. Scientists previously identified an aging factor in mammals, calciprotein particles (CPPs), tiny particles of calcium-phosphate and serum proteins in the blood and urine. CPPs behave like a pathogen, causing chronic inflammation and systemic tissue damage, which could be the mechanism behind accelerated aging in space.

Improving the spaceflight food system

Food in space must be nutritious and appealing to keep crew members healthy on the space station as well as longer missions to the Moon and Mars. This week, crew members participated in two ongoing studies aimed at improving the spaceflight diet: The Integrated Impact of Diet on Human Immune Response, the Gut Microbiota, and Nutritional Status During Adaptation to Spaceflight (Food Physiology) and Food Acceptability, Menu Fatigue, and Aversion in ISS Missions (Food Acceptability).

Image above: NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy processes biological samples for Food Physiology, an investigation examining the effects of an enhanced spaceflight diet on immune function, the gut microbiome, and nutritional status indicators. Image Credit: NASA.

Food Physiology characterizes how an enhanced spaceflight diet affects immune function, the gut microbiome, and nutritional status. These factors are interlinked, but diet is the only one that can be easily and meaningfully altered. This investigation documents the effect of dietary improvements on human physiology and the ability of those improvements to enhance adaptation to spaceflight. Additional hardware for the Food Physiology experiment launches on the Crew-1 mission, targeted for no sooner than early-to-mid November.

Food Acceptability looks at how the appeal of food changes during long-duration missions. Whether crew members like and actually eat foods directly affects caloric intake and associated nutritional benefits. Repeatedly consuming a limited selection of foods can lead to “menu fatigue” and cause decreased acceptability and increased aversion to some foods. This aversion may contribute to the loss of body mass often experienced by crew members, which could have unfavorable health consequences as mission length increases.

Keeping tabs on human adaptation to space

Spaceflight Standard Measures (Standard Measures) collects a set of core measurements related to many human spaceflight risks, helping to ensure consistent capture of data from crew members throughout the space station program. These measures, taken before, during, and after missions, characterize the adaptive responses to and risks of living in space and create a data repository that enables high-level monitoring of countermeasures and interpretation of health and performance outcomes. The measures include a cognition test battery, sleep questionnaires, comprehensive metabolic and chemistry panels, microbiome samples, immune function assessment, and more. Crew members collected data for the investigation during the week.

Other investigations on which the crew performed work:

- Culture-based Environmental Monitoring of Crop-based Space Food Systems (Veggie Monitoring) collects surface microbial samples from the Veggie plant production system, part of efforts to protect plant-growth systems from contamination.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7949

Animation above: The Canadian Space Agency’s VECTION investigation examines to what extent microgravity disrupts an astronaut's ability to visually interpret motion, orientation, and distance. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins conducts a session for the investigation. Animation Credit: NASA.

- The Effect of Long Duration Hypogravity on the Perception of Self-Motion (VECTION), a Canadian Space Agency investigation, determines to what extent microgravity disrupts an astronaut's ability to visually interpret motion, orientation, and distance as well as how those abilities may adapt in space and change again upon return to Earth.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7484

- The Whole Genome Fitness of Bacteria under Microgravity (Bacterial Genome Fitness) investigation looks at what environmental factors and processes are important for bacteria to grow in space. Results could help spacecraft designers control or prevent bacterial growth.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8020

- Actiwatch is a monitor worn by a crew member that continuously collects data on circadian rhythms, sleep-wake patterns, and activity during flight, beginning as soon as possible after arrival aboard the station.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8020

- ISS Ham Radio gives students an opportunity to talk directly with crew members via ham radio, engaging and educating students, teachers, parents, and other members of the community in science, technology, engineering, and math.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=838 

Space to Ground: Thumbs Up: 10/23/2020

Related links:

Expedition 64: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition64/index.html

Artemis: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

Phospho-aging: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8278

Food Physiology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7870

Food Acceptability: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7562

Standard Measures: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7711

ISS National Lab: https://www.issnationallab.org/

Spot the Station: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Video (NASA), Text, Credits: NASA/Michael Johnson/John Love, ISS Research Planning Integration Scientist Expedition 64.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Hubble Views a Galactic Waterfall

 

NASA - Hubble Space Telescope patch.

Oct. 23, 2020

In this spectacular image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the galaxy NGC 2799 (on the left) is seemingly being pulled into the center of the galaxy NGC 2798 (on the right).

Interacting galaxies, such as these, are so named because of the influence they have on each other, which may eventually result in a merger or a unique formation. Already, these two galaxies have seemingly formed a sideways waterspout, with stars from NGC 2799 appearing to fall into NGC 2798 almost like drops of water.

Galactic mergers can take place over several hundred million to over a billion years. While one might think the merger of two galaxies would be catastrophic for the stellar systems within, the sheer amount of space between stars means that stellar collisions are unlikely and stars typically drift past each other.

For more information about Hubble, visit:

http://hubblesite.org/

http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

http://www.spacetelescope.org/

Text Credits: European Space Agency (ESA)/NASA/Lynn Jenner/Image, Animation Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, SDSS, J. Dalcanton; Acknowledgment: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla).

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

The Propulsion We’re Supplying, It’s Electrifying

 

NASA logo.

Oct. 22, 2020

Since the beginning of the space program, people have been captivated by big, powerful rockets—like NASA’s Saturn V rocket that sent Apollo to the lunar surface, or the Space Launch System that will produce millions of pounds of thrust as it sends Artemis astronauts back to the Moon.

But what if the most powerful propulsion system in NASA’s toolbox produces less than one pound of thrust while reaching speeds of up to 200,000 mph? What if it costs less, carries more, and uses less fuel?

Image above: A solar electric propulsion Hall Effect thruster being tested under vacuum conditions at NASA. Image Credit: NASA.

This radical system is in-space electric propulsion. It can reduce the amount of fuel, or propellant, needed by up to 90% compared to chemical propulsion systems, saving millions in launch costs while providing greater mission flexibility.

Newton’s Third Law in Space

Chemical propulsion uses a fuel and an oxidizer, converting energy stored in the chemical bonds of the propellants, to produce a short, powerful thrust, or what we see as fire. It’s loud and exciting, but not all that efficient.

An electric propulsion system uses energy collected by either solar arrays (solar electric propulsion) or a nuclear reactor (nuclear electric propulsion) to generate thrust, eliminating many of the needs and limitations of storing propellants onboard.

That power is then converted and used to ionize—or positively charge—inert gas propellants like Xenon and Krypton (no, it’s not from Superman’s home planet). A combination of electric and magnetic fields (Hall effect thruster) or an electrostatic (gridded ion) field then accelerates the ions and pushes them out of the thruster driving the spacecraft to tremendous speeds over time. And instead of fire, its exhaust is a glowing greenish-blue trail, like something straight out of science fiction.

Image above: A simple illustration of how electric propulsion systems work. Image Credits: NASA/ATS Lisa Liuzzo.

Drag race vs. road trip

A chemical spacecraft is a top fuel dragster as it departs Earth’s orbit toward its destination. The initial burst is quite powerful, but it can really only go in the direction it’s pointing when you stomp on the gas pedal. The spacecraft is off like a bullet, but after its fuel supply is exhausted, there is little ability to speed up, slow down or change direction. So, the mission is locked into specific launch windows and orbital departure timeframes, and it can make only minimal corrections along the way.

An electric propulsion spacecraft, once it’s in space, is out for a cross-country drive, limited only by the gas in the tank. The initial thrust is quite low, but it can continue accelerating for months or even years, and it can also slow down and change direction.

NASA’s Dawn mission is a perfect example. After launch, it accelerated toward Vesta in the asteroid belt. Because of the spacecraft’s small solar arrays it took over five years to get there, but as it approached, the spacecraft flipped 180-degrees, burned its thrusters to slow down and orbited for a year. When it was done, it fired back up and traveled to Ceres, where it still orbits today. This wouldn’t be possible with chemically propelled spacecraft.

Systems like the one on Dawn are in wide use across NASA and the commercial sector, typically operating in the 1-10 kilowatt (kW) range. But as we prepare to use electric propulsion for more complex science and technology missions, and on human missions for the first time, we’re going to need more power.

More power for people!

The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) for Gateway will demonstrate advanced, high-power solar electric propulsion around the Moon. It is a 60kW-class spacecraft, 50 of which can be dedicated to propulsion, making it about four times more powerful than current electric propulsion spacecraft. We do this not by building one big thruster, but by combining several into a string with giant solar arrays.

Image above: An illustration of the PPE-HALO in lunar orbit. Image Credit: NASA.

This advanced system will allow our orbiting platform to support lunar exploration for 15 years given its high fuel economy, and its ability to move while in orbit will allow explorers to land virtually anywhere on the Moon’s surface.

While it’s a critical piece of our Artemis lunar exploration plans, the PPE will also help drive U.S. commercial investments in higher power electric propulsion systems, like those that could be used to get to Mars.

Next stop, Mars

Future Mars transfer vehicles will need around 400kW-2 megawatts of power to successfully ferry our astronauts or cargo to and from the Red Planet. We’re still exploring vehicle and propulsion concepts for Mars, including a combination of nuclear electric and chemical propulsion and other emerging options like Nuclear Thermal Propulsion.

No matter how we get to the Moon and eventually Mars, one thing is for certain… the future of space exploration is exciting, one might even say it’s electrifying.

Image above: Illustration of a Mars transit habitat and nuclear propulsion system that could one day take astronauts to Mars. Image Credit: NASA.

Related links:

Artemis: https://www.nasa.gov/artemisprogram

Space Launch System (SLS): https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/overview.html

Power and Propulsion Element (PPE): https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-artemis-contract-for-lunar-gateway-power-propulsion

Nuclear Thermal Propulsion: https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/game_changing_development/Nuclear_Thermal_Propulsion_Deep_Space_Exploration

Moon to Mars: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars/

Humans in Space: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/humans-in-space

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Kelly Sands/Glenn Research Center/Jimi Russell.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

NASA, Human Lunar Lander Companies Complete Key Artemis Milestone

 

NASA - ARTEMIS Program logo.

 

 Oct. 22, 2020

NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) Program recently checked off a key milestone in its progress toward landing the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The HLS Program conducted Certification Baseline Reviews (CBR) with the three U.S. companies competing to provide landers that will deliver Artemis astronauts to the Moon. These virtual meetings were the culmination of critical work by NASA and the companies since NASA announced the base period selections in April.

Since then, NASA has worked closely with the Blue Origin-led team, Dynetics, and SpaceX to better understand their human landing system proposals and approach for the agency’s Artemis program. The primary purpose of the CBRs was to finalize the functional and performance requirements for the companies’ landing system designs, confirm the standards to be applied to lander development, establish the baseline designs, schedules, and management plans for HLS contract execution and human spaceflight certification. Dr. Lisa Watson-Morgan, the HLS program manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, chaired the CBR board that approved the certification baseline for each contractor.

Lunar Lander. Image Credit: NASA

Seeking to leverage NASA’s human spaceflight experience and the commercial sector’s speed and innovation, the agency specified a concept of operations and high-level requirements and standards but did not dictate approach or design, allowing the contractors to propose their own designs. This was a departure from NASA’s traditional procurement approach of providing contractors with highly detailed specifications for building spacecraft hardware.

“We wanted to be as open as possible in our procurement approach, to accelerate the process and to encourage innovation,” said Watson-Morgan. “It worked. Within one year, we were able to select three very different design solutions to accomplish the bold and challenging objective of sending astronauts to the lunar South Pole.”

During the CBR meetings, NASA examined how each contractor has been proceeding with the design of their landing system, and NASA and the contractors confirmed the results of an intensive adjudication process that established design, construction, safety, and health and medical standards for each proposed landing system. Companies also provided development and testing schedules, identified top risks, and provided plans for safety and mission assurance, verification, validation, and certification.

The CBR is part of the base period for the three contracts. Running from May 2020 to February 2021, the base period is about mid-way through—the ideal time to conduct the CBR in the fast-paced development process, according to Watson-Morgan. “With firm-fixed price contracts it is important to come to an agreement up front about how each contractor will proceed,” she noted. “While NASA wants to be as flexible as possible to achieve success, late changes can be costly and add to schedule risk.”

Next Steps to Land Artemis Astronauts on the Moon

Concurrent with the base period, NASA is running an active federal procurement for the next phase of HLS development, Option A, which will determine which design(s) will be selected to continue development to flight. The three HLS base period contractors, having passed CBR, are the only eligible offerors for Option A.

After receiving Option A proposals in late 2020, NASA plans to select up to two HLS Option A contracts near the end of the base period, providing a seamless transition to the next phase of HLS development that ultimately culminates in crewed demonstration missions to the lunar surface beginning with the Artemis III mission in 2024.

ARTEMIS: Astronauts back to the Moon. Image Credit: NASA

Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and next man on the Moon in 2024 and establish sustainable lunar surface exploration with our commercial and international partners by 2028. Artemis is the next step in human exploration and is a part of NASA’s broader Moon to Mars strategy. Specifically, NASA’s lunar operations will provide the agency with the experience and knowledge necessary to enable a historic human mission to Mars.

For more information about the Human Landing System Program, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/content/more-about-the-human-landing-system-program

For more information about the Artemis program, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/

Artemis: https://www.nasa.gov/artemisprogram

Moon to Mars: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars/

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Erin Mahoney.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

45 years ago AMS "Venera-9" received a panorama of the surface of Venus

 

ROSCOSMOS - Venera-9 Mission patch.

Oct. 22, 2020

The automatic interplanetary station "Venera-9" was launched on June 8, 1975. It consisted of an orbiter, a corrective-braking propulsion system and a descent vehicle with a heat-shielding shell. The purpose of the Soviet interplanetary station Venera-9 was to deliver the descent vehicle to the surface of Venus, conduct scientific research along the flight path, on the surface of the planet and from the orbit of an artificial satellite of Venus.

The automated spacecraft Venera-9 became the world's first artificial satellite of Venus. The Venera-9 lander on October 22, 1975 made a soft landing on the illuminated side of the planet in the northern hemisphere and transmitted information from the surface for 53 minutes. The world's first panorama of the surface of Venus was obtained.

From a TASS message: “... On October 22, 1975, the Venera-9 interplanetary station, having covered a distance of more than 300 million kilometers in 136 days of flight, was launched into orbit around Venus and became the first artificial satellite of Venus in history. The lander of the station made a soft landing on the surface of Venus. For the first time in the atmosphere of the planet Venus at a pressure 90 times greater than on Earth and a temperature of 485 degrees Celsius, a unique image of the surface of Venus at the landing site was obtained ... ".

Flight results

For the first time, panoramic television images from another planet were transmitted. In the panoramas made up of television images transmitted from the Venera-9 descent vehicle, outcrops of bedrock are visible, the breakdown of stones may be the result of displacements in the crust and serve as confirmation of tectonic activity on Venus.

Venera-9

The descent vehicle measured the density, pressure, temperature of the atmosphere, the amount of water vapor, nephelometric measurements of cloud particles, measurements of illumination in different parts of the spectrum. In addition to a gamma spectrometer, a radiation density meter was used to measure soil characteristics.

Artist's concept of Venera 9 landed on Venus. Image Credit: ESA

Venera 9 measured the illumination near the surface - these measurements showed that 5-10% of the solar energy reaches the planet's surface in the form of radiation scattered by clouds. Artificial satellites made it possible to obtain television images of the cloud layer, the temperature distribution over the upper boundary of the clouds, the spectra of the planet's night glow, to carry out studies of the hydrogen corona, repeated radio illumination of the atmosphere and ionosphere, and the measurement of magnetic fields and near-planetary plasma. The detection of thunderstorms and lightning in the cloud layer on the planet has attracted much attention. The data of optical measurements showed that the energy characteristics of Venusian lightning are 25 times higher than the parameters of earth lightning.

ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/29448/

Images, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Astronaut Chris Cassidy and and Cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner Return Safely to Earth

 

ROSCOSMOS - Soyuz MS-16 Mission patch.

October 22, 2020

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of the Russian space agency Roscosmos landed on Earth at 10:54 p.m. EDT in Kazakhstan. The trio departed the International Space Station in their Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft at 7:32 p.m.

Image above: The Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft is seen as it lands in Kazakhstan with Expedition 63 crew. Image Credit: NASA TV.

Cassidy now has spent a total of 378 days in space, the fifth highest among U.S. astronauts.

After post-landing medical checks, the crew will split up to return home; Cassidy will board a NASA plane back to Houston, and Vagner and Ivanishin will fly home to Star City, Russia.

Soyuz MS-16 landing

Remaining aboard the station is the three-person crew of Expedition 64 with NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, and station commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos. Upon the arrival of the SpaceX Crew-1 mission targeted to launch in November, the station’s long-duration crew will expand to seven people for the first time with the addition of NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

New Station Trio Resting Today After Crew Departure

Three Expedition 64 crew members are sleeping in today following the departure of their Expedition 63 crewmates the day before. Back on Earth, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner have begun the flight back to their home space agencies.

Image above: Expedition 64 crew members (from left) NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov pose for a crew portrait. Image Credit: NASA.

The International Space Station is quiet today as Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov rest after preparing their crewmates for the short ride to Earth on Wednesday. The trio will resume their normal schedule on Friday and begin revving up advanced space science to improve life for humans on and off the Earth.

The next crew to visit the orbiting lab is targeting early to mid November to launch aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft from Florida. Four Commercial Crew astronauts, Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker of NASA with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, are planned to live and work on the station until Spring.

Related articles:

Soyuz Departs Space Station
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/10/soyuz-departs-space-station.html

Hatches Between Soyuz and Station Closed
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/10/hatches-between-soyuz-and-station-closed.html

Related links:

Expedition 63: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition63/index.html

Expedition 64: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition64/index.html

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Norah Moran/Mark Garcia/NASA TV/SciNews.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

OSIRIS-REx TAGs Surface of Asteroid Bennu

 

NASA - OSIRIS-REx Mission patch.

Oct. 21, 2020

Captured on Oct. 20, 2020 during the OSIRIS-REx mission’s Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection event, this series of images shows the SamCam imager’s field of view as the NASA spacecraft approaches and touches down on asteroid Bennu’s surface, over 200 million miles (321 million km) away from Earth. The sampling event brought the spacecraft all the way down to sample site Nightingale, touching down within three feet (one meter) of the targeted location. The team on Earth received confirmation at 6:08 p.m. EDT that successful touchdown occurred. Preliminary data show the one-foot-wide (0.3-meter-wide) sampling head touched Bennu’s surface for approximately 6 seconds, after which the spacecraft performed a back-away burn.

OSIRIS-REx Sample Collection at Asteroid Bennu: SamCam View of TAGSAM

Video above: Captured on Oct. 20, during the OSIRIS-REx mission’s Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection event, this series of 82 images shows the SamCam imager’s field of view as the NASA spacecraft approaches and touches down on asteroid Bennu’s surface. The sampling event brought the spacecraft all the way down to sample site Nightingale, and the team on Earth received confirmation of successful touchdown at 6:08 p.m. EDT. Preliminary data show the sampling head touched Bennu’s surface for approximately 6 seconds, after which the spacecraft performed a back-away burn. Video Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona.

The spacecraft’s sampling arm – called the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) – is visible in the lower part of the frame. The round head at the end of TAGSAM is the only part of OSIRIS-REx that contacted the surface during the sample collection event. In the middle of the image sequence, the sampling head positions itself to contact the asteroid’s surface head-on. Shortly after, the sampling head impacts site Nightingale and penetrates Bennu’s regolith. Upon initial contact, the TAGSAM head appears to crush some of the porous rocks underneath it. One second later, the spacecraft fires a nitrogen gas bottle, which mobilizes a substantial amount of the sample site’s material. Preliminary data show the spacecraft spent approximately 5 of the 6 seconds of contact collecting surface material, and the majority of sample collection occurred within the first 3 seconds.

Animation above: Captured on Oct. 20 during the OSIRIS-REx mission’s Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection event, this series of 2 images shows the SamCam imager’s field of view at the moment before and after the NASA spacecraft touched down on asteroid Bennu’s surface. The sampling event brought the spacecraft all the way down to sample site Nightingale, and the team on Earth received confirmation of successful touchdown at 6:08 p.m. EDT. Preliminary data show the sampling head touched Bennu’s surface for approximately 6 seconds, after which the spacecraft performed a back-away burn. Animation Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona.

The TAGSAM is designed to catch the agitated surface material, and the mission team will assess the amount of material collected through various spacecraft activities. After touchdown, the spacecraft fired its thrusters to back away from Bennu. As expected, this maneuver also disturbed the Nightingale site, and loose debris is visible near the end of the image sequence. Preliminary telemetry shows the spacecraft remains in good health. The spacecraft was traveling at 0.2 mph (10 cm/sec) when it contacted sample site Nightingale and then backed away at 0.9 mph (40 cm/sec).

These images were captured over approximately a five-minute period. The imaging sequence begins at about 82 feet (25 meters) above the surface, and runs through the back-away maneuver, with the last image in the sequence taken at approximately 43 feet (13 meters) in altitude – about 35 seconds after backing away. The sequence was created using 82 SamCam images, with 1.25 seconds between frames. For context, the images are oriented with Bennu’s west at the top.

OSIRIS-REx Aftermath of Sample Collection at Asteroid Bennu: SamCam View

Video above: Captured on Oct. 20 during the OSIRIS-REx mission’s Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection event, this series of 16 images shows the SamCam imager’s field of view as the NASA spacecraft backs away from asteroid Bennu’s surface after touching down. The sampling event brought the spacecraft all the way down to sample site Nightingale, and the team on Earth received confirmation of successful touchdown at 6:08 p.m. EDT. Preliminary data show the sampling head touched Bennu’s surface for approximately 6 seconds, after which the spacecraft performed a back-away burn. Video Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona.

Related article:

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Successfully Touches Asteroid
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/10/nasas-osiris-rex-spacecraft.html

Related link:

OSIRIS-REx (Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer): http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/osiris-rex/index.html

Videos (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Rob Garner/GSFC/Nancy Neal Jones/University of Arizona, by Brittany Enos.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Soyuz Departs Space Station

 

ROSCOSMOS - Soyuz MS-16 Mission patch.

October 21, 2020

The Soyuz spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station at 7:32 p.m. EDT, carrying three people back to Earth. NASA Television will air live coverage beginning at 9:30 p.m. for the deorbit burn at 10 p.m. and the spacecraft’s parachute-assisted landing.

Image above: The Soyuz MS-16 crew ship with the Expedition 63 crew inside is pictured just after undocking from the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA TV.

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of the Russian space agency Roscosmos are expected to land in their Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft at 10:55 p.m. on the steppe of Kazakhstan southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan (8:55 a.m. Oct. 22 Kazakhstan time).

Soyuz MS-16 undocking and departure

Cassidy’s mission was filled with milestones for space exploration as well as numerous science experiments helping benefit life back on Earth. Take a look at his time as a space scientist in this video: https://youtu.be/u8L66TSXSxY

Related article:

Hatches Between Soyuz and Station Closed
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/10/hatches-between-soyuz-and-station-closed.html

Related links:

NASA Television: http://nasa.gov/live

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Norah Moran/NASA TV/SciNews.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Hatches Between Soyuz and Station Closed

 

ROSCOSMOS - Soyuz MS-16 Mission patch.

October 21, 2020

Soyuz MS-16 hatch closure

At 4:24 p.m. EDT, the hatch closed between the Soyuz spacecraft and the International Space Station in preparation for undocking. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of the Russian space agency Roscosmos are scheduled to undock their Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft at 7:32 p.m.

NASA Television will air live coverage of the undocking beginning at 7 p.m.; their landing in Kazakhstan is targeted for approximately 10:55 p.m.

Image above: At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 63 crewmembers Ivan Vagner (left) and Anatoly Ivanishin (center) of Roscosmos and Chris Cassidy of NASA (right) pose for pictures March 25 in front of their Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft as part of pre-launch training activities. Image Credits: ROSCOSMOS/NASA.

At the time of undocking, Expedition 64 will begin aboard the station, with Kate Rubins of NASA, new station commander Sergey Ryzhikov and cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos comprising a three-person station crew until the arrival of the SpaceX Crew-1 mission targeted to launch in November. NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will launch on the first long-duration commercial crew mission to the station.

Related links:

NASA Television: http://nasa.gov/live

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Video, Image (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Norah Moran/NASA TV/SciNews.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Successfully Touches Asteroid

 

NASA - OSIRIS-REx Mission patch.

Oct. 20, 2020

NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft unfurled its robotic arm Tuesday, and in a first for the agency, briefly touched an asteroid to collect dust and pebbles from the surface for delivery to Earth in 2023.

Image above: NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission readies itself to touch the surface of asteroid Bennu. Image Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona.

This well-preserved, ancient asteroid, known as Bennu, is currently more than 200 million miles (321 million kilometers) from Earth. Bennu offers scientists a window into the early solar system as it was first taking shape billions of years ago and flinging ingredients that could have helped seed life on Earth. If Tuesday’s sample collection event, known as “Touch-And-Go” (TAG), provided enough of a sample, mission teams will command the spacecraft to begin stowing the precious primordial cargo to begin its journey back to Earth in March 2021. Otherwise, they will prepare for another attempt in January.

“This amazing first for NASA demonstrates how an incredible team from across the country came together and persevered through incredible challenges to expand the boundaries of knowledge,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “Our industry, academic, and international partners have made it possible to hold a piece of the most ancient solar system in our hands.”

At 1:50 p.m. EDT, OSIRIS-REx fired its thrusters to nudge itself out of orbit around Bennu. It extended the shoulder, then elbow, then wrist of its 11-foot (3.35-meter) sampling arm, known as the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM), and transited across Bennu while descending about a half-mile (805 meters) toward the surface. After a four-hour descent, at an altitude of approximately 410 feet (125 meters), the spacecraft executed the “Checkpoint” burn, the first of two maneuvers to allow it to precisely target the sample collection site, known as “Nightingale.”

Ten minutes later, the spacecraft fired its thrusters for the second “Matchpoint” burn to slow its descent and match the asteroid’s rotation at the time of contact. It then continued a treacherous, 11-minute coast past a boulder the size of a two-story building, nicknamed “Mount Doom,” to touch down in a clear spot in a crater on Bennu’s northern hemisphere. The size of a small parking lot, the site Nightingale site is one of the few relatively clear spots on this unexpectedly boulder-covered space rock.

“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 at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “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.”

“After over a decade of planning, the team is overjoyed at the success of today’s sampling attempt,” said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona in Tucson. “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.”

All spacecraft telemetry data indicates the TAG event executed as expected. However, it will take about a week for the OSIRIS-REx team to confirm how much sample the spacecraft collected.

Real-time data indicates the TAGSAM successfully contacted the surface and fired a burst of nitrogen gas. The gas should have stirred up dust and pebbles on Bennu’s surface, some of which should have been captured in the TAGSAM sample collection head. OSIRIS-REx engineers also confirmed that shortly after the spacecraft made contact with the surface, it fired its thrusters and safely backed away from Bennu.

“Today’s TAG maneuver was historic,” said Lori Glaze, Planetary Science Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “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."

Animation above: Captured on Aug. 11, 2020 during the second rehearsal of the OSIRIS-REx mission’s sample collection event, this series of images shows the SamCam imager’s field of view as the NASA spacecraft approaches asteroid Bennu’s surface. The rehearsal brought the spacecraft through the first three maneuvers of the sampling sequence to a point approximately 131 feet (40 meters) above the surface, after which the spacecraft performed a back-away burn. Animation Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona.

“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. “The team can’t wait to receive the imagery from the TAG event late tonight and see how the surface of Bennu responded to the TAG event.”

The spacecraft carried out TAG autonomously, with pre-programmed instructions from engineers on Earth. Now, the OSIRIS-REx team will begin to assess whether the spacecraft grabbed any material, and, if so, how much; the goal is at least 60 grams, which is roughly equivalent to a full-size candy bar.

OSIRIS-REx engineers and scientists will use several techniques to identify and measure the sample remotely. First, they’ll compare images of the Nightingale site before and after TAG to see how much surface material moved around in response to the burst of gas.

“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.”

Next, the team will try to determine the amount of sample collected. One method involves taking pictures of the TAGSAM head with a camera known as SamCam, which is devoted to documenting the sample-collection process and determining whether dust and rocks made it into the collector head. One indirect indication will be the amount of dust found around the sample collector head. OSIRIS-REx engineers also will attempt to snap photos that could, given the right lighting conditions, show the inside of the head so engineers can look for evidence of sample inside of it.

Image above: These images show the OSIRIS-REx Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) sampling head extended from the spacecraft at the end of the TAGSAM arm. The spacecraft’s SamCam camera captured the images on Nov. 14, 2018 as part of a visual checkout of the TAGSAM system, which was developed by Lockheed Martin Space to acquire a sample of asteroid material in a low-gravity environment. The imaging was a rehearsal for a series of observations that will be taken at Bennu directly after sample collection. Images Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona.

A couple of days after the SamCam images are analyzed, the spacecraft will attempt yet another method to measure the mass of the sample collected by determining the change in the spacecraft’s “moment of inertia,” a phrase that describes how mass is distributed and how it affects the rotation of the body around a central axis. This maneuver entails extending the TAGSAM arm out to the side of the spacecraft and slowly spinning the spacecraft about an axis perpendicular to the arm. This technique is analogous to a person spinning with one arm extended while holding a string with a ball attached to the end. The person can sense the mass of the ball by the tension in the string. Having performed this maneuver before TAG, and now after, engineers can measure the change in the mass of the collection head as a result of the sample inside.

“We will use the combination of data from TAG and the post-TAG images and mass measurement to assess our confidence that we have collected at least 60 grams of sample,” said Rich Burns, OSIRIS-REx project manager at Goddard. “If our confidence is high, we'll make the decision to stow the sample on October 30.”

To store the sample, engineers will command the robotic arm to place the sample collector head into the Sample Return Capsule (SRC), located in the body of the spacecraft. The sample arm will then retract to the side of the spacecraft for the final time, the SRC will close, and the spacecraft will prepare for its departure from Bennu in March 2021 — this is the next time Bennu will be properly aligned with Earth for the most fuel-efficient return flight.

OSIRIS-REx Touch and Go (TAG) and Sample Stow Sequence

Video above: This (silent) animation shows the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft deploying its Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) to collect a sample of regolith (loose rocks and dirt) from the surface of the asteroid Bennu. The sampler head, with the regolith safely inside, is then sealed up in the spacecraft's Sample Return Capsule, which will be returned to Earth in late 2023. Scientists will study the sample for clues about the early solar system and the origins of life. Video Credits: NASA/Goddard.

If, however, it turns out that the spacecraft did not collect enough sample at Nightingale, it will attempt another TAG maneuver on Jan. 12, 2021. If that occurs, it will touch down at the backup site called “Osprey,” which is another relatively boulder-free area inside a crater near Bennu’s equator.

OSIRIS-REx launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Sept. 8, 2016. It arrived at Bennu Dec. 3, 2018, and began orbiting the asteroid for the first time on Dec. 31, 2018. The spacecraft is scheduled to return to Earth Sept. 24, 2023, when it will parachute the SRC into Utah's west desert where scientists will be waiting to collect it.

Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator, and the University of Arizona also leads the science team and the mission’s science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the spacecraft and is providing flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more information on OSIRIS-REx:

https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex and https://www.asteroidmission.org

Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Sean Potter/Grey Hautaluoma/Joshua Handal/GSFC/Nancy Neal Jones/University of Arizona/Erin Morton.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch