NASA's OSIRIS-REx Will Land On an Asteroid To Bring Home Rocks and Dust

Imagine parallel parking a 15-passenger van into just two to three parking spaces surrounded by two-story boulders. On Oct. 20, a University of Arizona-led NASA mission 16 years in the making will attempt the astronomical equivalent more than 200 million miles away. A NASA mission called OSIRIS-REx will soon attempt to touch the surface of an asteroid and collect loose rubble. bobbied writes: OSIRIS-REx is the United States' first asteroid sample return mission, aiming to collect and carry a pristine, unaltered sample from an asteroid back to Earth for scientific study. The spacecraft will attempt to touch the surface of the asteroid Bennu, which is hurtling through space at 63,000 miles per hour. If all goes according to plan, the spacecraft will deploy an 11-foot-long robotic arm called TAGSAM -- Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism -- and spend about 10 seconds collecting at least two ounces of loose rubble from the asteroid. The spacecraft, monitored remotely by a team of scientists and engineers, will then stow away the sample and begin its return to Earth, scheduled for 2023. You can watch this sample collection "Touch-And-Go" maneuver Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. EDT/ 2 p.m. PDT on NASA Television and the agency's website. As senior vice president for research and innovation at UArizona and a mechanical engineer with a long career in space systems engineering, I believe this milestone for OSIRIS-REx captures perfectly the spirit of research and innovation, the careful balance of problem-solving and perseverance, of obstacle and opportunity.

Expectations?

[Evtim]

Is there something particularly interesting about this asteroid? Or perhaps it happened to be interesting enough on suitable trajectory?

Re:

[afaiktoit]

nothing particularly interesting, it was just in the district of one of the congressman on the NASA budget committee.

Re:Expectations?

[Geoffrey.landis]

Is there something particularly interesting about this asteroid? Or perhaps it happened to be interesting enough on suitable trajectory?

Yes, it's a carbonaceous asteroid, which means it contains organic compounds.

This is important to astrobiology, in that understanding the materials from Bennu will give us insight into the original raw materials from which life arose.

Re:

[jbengt]

Also, the surface was thought to be sandy with pebbles, so it would have been a good candidate for retrieving samples if they had been right.

Perfecting our mechanism

[John.Banister]

for interplanetary drive-by theft. Also, casing the asteroid belt for future targeted theft. It's part of a continuing tradition of exploration.

Re: Expectations?

[Anonymouse Cowtard]

The material returned is expected to enable scientists to learn more about the formation and evolution of the Solar System, its initial stages of planet formation, and the source of organic compounds that led to the formation of life on Earth. -- WP

Re:

[arglebargle_xiv]

Typical NASA waste of taxpayer money. If they want rocks and dust they can have as much as they want from my driveway, I'll only charge them a few dollars a kilo.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[JaredOfEuropa]

Fixed with Duct Tape, got it.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Wow

[WankerWeasel]

Crazy accomplishment. Also insane to think we spent $1.16 billion to collect what they hope is at least just 2oz of rubble.

Re:Wow

[ShanghaiBill]

Crazy accomplishment. Also insane to think we spent $1.16 billion to collect what they hope is at least just 2oz of rubble.

That is about $4 per American citizen.

As an American, I feel that scientific exploration is a good use of my tax dollars.

Re:

[WankerWeasel]

That's a beyond incredibly simplified way of looking at it.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Apparently, you also feel that's it's a good use of mine, too.

Re:

[ShanghaiBill]

Apparently, you also feel that's it's a good use of mine, too.

Yes, I do. Everyone benefits from scientific progress.

I pay a lot of taxes and benefit little from most government spending.

So it is nice to see something being done for people like me.

Nerd lives matter.

Re:

[slazzy]

Remember you're typing on a phone/computer that probably wouldn't exist if it wasn't for NASAs trip to the moon.

Objoke

[nospam007]

How did the cavemen survive the asteroid that killed all the dinosaurs?
Social distancing, they stayed 56 million years apart.

PS. Another one

How did the bodybuilding dinosaur die?
Asteroid overdose!

Re: Objoke

[Anonymouse Cowtard]

The caretaker of a generation ship was on his death bed. Many years before, Jacques had helped place all his friends and family into cryogenic sleep. He was a young man then and they all knew that he would likely be long dead by the time they reached their destination. They said their tearful goodbyes and drifted off to sleep. In the years he spent alone on the ship, he became adept at building small robots to help him complete his tasks. He formed relationships with the little bots, but he found he missed the companionship of real humans. He would take small stints in the cryogenic chambers in order to prolong his life, so as to complete his mission of getting his friends and family to their new home. He didn't want to wake anyone to take over his duties and suffer the loneliness of space travel. But a long life with no one real to talk to is lacking. With his knowledge of robotics, he took it upon himself to build an artificial human. Something that looked real. Something that felt real. Something that would make the unbearable loneliness go away. He didnâ(TM)t feel right copying the likeness of any members of the sleeping crew, so he modeled the robot on himself. By the time he was done, there "he" was, a perfect replica of Jacques himself. He named the robot Jacques 2.0, because who else was there to get confused? And as he grew older, it would be easier to remember his own name, he figured. Well, years passed as they are wont to do. He grew old and frail on the journey, but Jacques 2.0 remained young and spry, helping his creator to complete the tasks the old man's bones could no longer handle. As the old man lay dying, he asked his robotic companion to do him a favor. He wanted his remains to be scattered among the stars, the asteroids, and the comets they passed. He did not want to be buried on a planet he would never see, but instead live on in the vastness of space that had become his home. So when the day finally came, Jacques 2.0 sent his creator's ashes out of the airlock and into the universe. But the journey was not over. Jacques 2.0 carried on his creator's duties for years and helped the crew arrive on their new home. As the ship grew close to the planet, the crew began to wake up. One by one they woke from their long sleep and travelled to the observation deck to see their new home. When they arrived, though, they found themselves in complete shock. There was Jacques, as lively and youthful as ever, waiting for them. "How can this be?" They asked. "Surely, you would at the very least be an old, old man by now. It has been so long since we left Earth." Jacques 2.0 raised his hands slightly in a calming gesture and said, "Do not worry. I am here to send you a message of love and care from Jacques. I was created to help him complete his mission. I may look like him, but in truth, I am not him. For you see," and with this he gestured towards the stars and space above their heads, "the real Jacques is in the comets."

Watch out Piedmont, AZ. Its coming to you

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

The materials scrapped from the asteroid will be returned to Earth but there will be a malfunction of the reentry module and this will crash near Piedmont AZ. Except for very old people and very young babies everyone else there will die of instantaneous blood clotting. So it was prophesied, So it will happen. [wikipedia.org]

Re:

[BranMan]

Houston, we have a "fire".

Well ...

[nospam007]

"Bring Home Rocks and Dust "

Someone's wife won't be amused.