NASA announced that its Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft successfully reached the asteroid Bennu on Tuesday at 6:08 p.m. EST. The spacecraft descended for about four hours, covering almost a half-mile (805 meters). Upon making contact with the surface, OSIRIS-REx immediately went to work and released a robotic arm that collected dust and pebble samples before quickly leaving orbit. The samples are slated to arrive on Earth in 2023.
Almost 200 million miles from Earth, OSIRIS-REx’s primary sample collection site is a 52-foot-long area located inside a crater on Bennu’s northern hemisphere, which was dubbed “Nightingale.” The Maryland team explained back in August that the spacecraft was designed to perform the task autonomously using preprogrammed instructions instead of following the typical live commands. This is because it takes approximately 16 minutes just for the OSIRIS-REx to receive radio signals. The spacecraft was subjected to rigorous training and rehearsals for months to assure that it would perform accurately on the day of the mission.
OSIRIS-REx remained three feet across the landing target and fired off nitrogen gas that allowed rocks and dust to roll into its robotic arm’s collection chamber. The robotic arm, which is 11 feet long and one foot wide, is known as the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM). It made contact with the surface for approximately six seconds, with most of the collection happening during the first three seconds.
“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, the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate 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.”
The Bennu asteroid is one of the oldest objects in the solar system, containing organics and minerals that played a hand in forming most of the planets today—including Earth. Obtaining samples of these could allow researchers to gain insight into how habitable worlds are developed.
NASA intended to collect at least 60 grams of samples. Based on the preliminary analysis, the team is optimistic that the mission went as planned. Dante Lauretta, the principal investigator for the OSIRIS-REx from the University of Arizona, mentioned that they will still need to conduct tests in order to determine exactly how much material was collected. A sample-mass measurement is already scheduled , with a subsequent report scheduled to be released by October 26. Should everything check out, the OSIRIS-REx will keep the samples and bring them to Earth in 2023. If the team deems the sample to be insufficient, the spacecraft still has the capacity to make two more sample collection attempts.
For more details, see NASA’s official report here. You can also watch the sample collection footage on NASA’s YouTube page.
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