NASA’s asteroid-sampling spacecraft Osiris-Rex will go look at ‘the mess it made’

In October 2020, NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft took a chew out of asteroid Bennu. Earlier than Osiris-Rex returns to Earth to ship its bounty, it will revisit the scene of the heist.The spacecraft will carry out one remaining very shut flyby of Bennu on Wednesday to find “the extent of the mess it made,” NASA announced.  

Osiris-Rex was somewhat grasping through the pattern seize operation, selecting up an overflowing quantity of gravel that needed to be stowed before anticipated. It left a mark on the asteroid.

“The Osiris-Rex staff determined so as to add this final flyover after Bennu’s floor was considerably disturbed by the pattern assortment occasion,” NASA said. “Throughout landing, the spacecraft’s sampling head sunk 1.6 ft (48.eight centimeters) into the asteroid’s floor and concurrently fired a pressurized cost of nitrogen gasoline.” The thrusters fired to again Osiris-Rex away additionally disturbed the floor.

NASA has scheduled the flyover for April 7 with the purpose of capturing pictures of the gathering web site from an in depth distance of simply 2.Three miles (3.7 kilometers) away.

Osiris-Rex will proceed to hold round at Bennu till Could 10, when it’s going to kick off a two-year return journey again to Earth. The bits of Bennu shall be delivered to scientists by means of a Pattern Return Capsule jettisoned by the spacecraft. 

Within the meantime, NASA will get to match the before-and-after pictures of the pattern web site to see simply how massive of a tattoo Osiris-Rex left on Bennu.

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