OSIRIS-REx, NASA, Washington, D.C., USA


Arrival at asteroid Bennu

Published on Dec 29, 2018

On Dec. 3, 2018, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at its destination: an ancient near-Earth asteroid called Bennu. Members of the mission team reflect on what we will learn by collecting a sample from Bennu, the milestones the mission has reached so far, and the challenges ahead.
 

Bennu is an active asteroid

Published on Mar 19, 2019

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission returned the first scientific observations, revealing that asteroid Bennu is an active active asteroid. OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) is the first U.S. mission to sample an asteroid (near-Earth asteroid Bennu), retrieve surface material and return it to Earth for study in September 2023.
 

Asteroid Bennu sample site finalists

Published on Aug 12, 2019

Since arriving at near-Earth asteroid Bennu in December 2018, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has been studying this small world of boulders, rocks, and loose rubble - and looking for a place to touch down. The goal of OSIRIS-REx is to collect a sample of Bennu in mid-2020, and return it to Earth in late 2023.

Bennu turned out to be rockier than anticipated, but mission planners have now identified four sites on its surface that are smooth enough for OSIRIS-REx to collect a sample. The mission will down-select to the final two sites - a primary and a backup - in December 2019. Like the mythological Bennu bird for which the asteroid is named, all of the candidate sample sites refer to birds that can be found in Egypt.
 

OSIRIS-REx - Asteroid Bennu candidate sample sites

Published on Aug 12, 2019

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has as primary science objective to collect a sample from asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth. After mapping the asteroid’s surface, four candidate sample sites have been selected: Nightingale, Kingfisher, Osprey and Sandpiper. The candidate sample sites refer to birds that can be found in Egypt, as the asteroid is named after the mythological Bennu bird. The the final two sites, a primary and a backup sampling site, will be selected in December 2019.
 

Surprises from Asteroid Bennu

Dec 2, 2019

The OSIRIS-REx team has already pushed the boundaries of scientific exploration -- going from ground-based radar images from Arecibo in Puerto Rico all the way to orbiting a few hundred meters from asteroid Bennu. The team is mere months away from a sample collection attempt at the asteroid surface. Before this attempt, we take a look back at some of the major achievements, surprises and challenges of sampling an asteroid with OSIRIS-REx.
 

Asteroid Bennu Backup Sample Site: Osprey

Dec 18, 2019

The main science goal of NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is to briefly touch down on near-Earth asteroid Bennu and collect a sample of fine-grained material, but the asteroid's unexpected roughness could pose a hazard to the spacecraft. After a year of scoping out Bennu's boulder-scattered surface, the OSIRIS-REx team has officially selected a primary and a backup sample collection site. The team concluded that a site designated "Osprey" - located in a crater just north of Bennu's equatorial bulge - is the best backup location in the event that OSIRIS-REx is unable to collect a sample from the primary site ("Nightingale").
 

OSIRIS-REx meets Bennu’s surprises

Sep 23, 2020

The OSIRIS-REx team has already pushed the boundaries of scientific exploration — going from ground-based radar images from Arecibo in Puerto Rico all the way to orbiting a few hundred meters from asteroid Bennu. The team is mere days away from a sample collection attempt at the asteroid surface. Before this attempt, we take a look back at some of the major achievements, surprises and challenges of sampling an asteroid with OSIRIS-REx.
 

Tour of Asteroid Bennu

Oct 8, 2020

When NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at asteroid Bennu in December 2018, its close-up images confirmed what mission planners had predicted nearly two decades before: Bennu is made of loose material weakly clumped together by gravity, and shaped like a spinning top. This major validation, however, was accompanied by a major surprise. Scientists had expected Bennu’s surface to consist of fine-grained material like a sandy beach, but were instead greeted by a rugged world littered with boulders – the size of cars, the size of houses, the size of football fields. Now, thanks to laser altimetry data and high-resolution imagery from OSIRIS-REx, we can take a tour of Bennu’s remarkable terrain.
 

Watch NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft attempt to capture a sample of Asteroid Bennu

Streamed live Oct 21, 2020

Let's do this, OSIRIS-REx! Time to journey #ToBennuAndBack. Tune in to our live broadcast as our spacecraft descends to the surface of asteroid Bennu, touches down for a few seconds & attempts to capture regolith (rocks and dust) using a “Touch-And-Go,” or TAG, maneuver. The spacecraft must target Bennu’s rocky surface with great accuracy, touching down within a rocky area just 52 ft (16 m) in diameter. During the maneuver, the spacecraft and the asteroid will be approximately 207 million miles (334 million km) from Earth.

Live coverage from Lockheed Martin's facility in Denver, Colorado, with mission managers from the University of Arizona, Lockheed Martin, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center begins at 5 p.m. EDT.

The spacecraft is scheduled to depart Bennu in 2021, and to deliver the collected sample to Earth on Sep. 24, 2023. It will be the first U.S. mission to carry samples from an asteroid back to Earth, and the largest sample returned from space since the Apollo era.
 

NASA celebrates Osiris-Rex touchdown on Asteroid Bennu!

Oct 20, 2020

NASA's Osiris-Rex successfully touches Asteroid Bennu and collects samples to bring back to Earth for further observation and analysis. The samples are 200 million miles away and will be back to study in 2023.
 

OSIRIS-REx touches asteroid Bennu

Oct 21, 2020

NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft unfurled its robotic arm Oct. 20, 2020, 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.

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.
 

OSIRIS-REx’s “Touch-And-Go” on Asteroid Bennu

Oct 21, 2020

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission collected a sample from Asteroid Bennu on 20 October 2020,using a “Touch-And-Go,” or TAG, maneuver. Site Nightingale is located in Bennu’s northern hemisphere, in a crater 460 feet (140 meters) wide. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-Rex) is NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission.
Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
 

NASA Science Live: Our first attempt to sample asteroid Bennu

October 22, 2020

NASA has touched the surface of asteroid Bennu to collect the agency’s first ever asteroid sample, which will one day shed new insights on the history of our solar system… so what’s next? Join NASA's OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission experts and ask them your questions! Submit them using #ToBennuAndBack and tune in today at 6:15 p.m. ET as they walk you through new images and videos captured by the spacecraft as it descended down to the asteroid's surface.
 

How far did OSIRIS-REx plunge into asteroid Bennu?

Jul 7, 2022

On October 20, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected a sample of near-Earth asteroid Bennu. This “TAG event” revealed surprising details about Bennu’s loosely-packed surface. The spacecraft’s arm sank almost half a meter into the asteroid, far deeper than expected, confirming that Bennu’s surface is incredibly weak. During the event, OSIRIS-REx collected a handful of material and kicked up roughly six tons of loose rock. It will return its sample of Bennu to Earth in September 2023.


Asteroid Bennu’s surprising surface revealed by NASA spacecraft

Jul 7, 2022

Near-Earth asteroid Bennu is a rubble pile of rocks and boulders left over from the formation of the solar system. On October 20, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touched down on Bennu and collected a sample for return to Earth. During this “TAG event,” the spacecraft’s arm sank far deeper into the asteroid than expected, confirming that Bennu’s surface is incredibly weak. Now, scientists have used data from OSIRIS-REx to revisit the TAG event and better understand how Bennu’s loose upper layers are held together.


'Surprise – Again! Asteroid Bennu Reveals its Surface is Like a Plastic Ball Pit"

July 7, 2022
 
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OSIRIS-REx capsule landing

Sep 24, 2023

The capsule containing asteroid Bennu samples, collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, has successfully landed at the U.S. Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range, on 24 September 2023, at 14:52 UTC (local time 08:52 MDT, 10:52 EDT).
Credit: Gianluca Masi/The Virtual Telescope Project/NASA/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
 
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