UNITED STATES: In the thrilling culmination of NASA’s $1 billion OSIRIS-REx mission, a dramatic landing in the Utah desert is now less than 48 hours away. The spacecraft, bearing the acronym OSIRIS-REx (“Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer”), hurtles towards Earth, cradling a capsule containing approximately 8.8 ounces (250 grams) of material harvested from the asteroid Bennu in 2020.
At an altitude of 63,000 miles above Earth, the capsule is set to touch down in the Department of Defense’s remote Utah Test and Training Range on Sunday at 8:55 a.m. MDT. The event will be broadcast live on Space.com, courtesy of NASA.
During a briefing held on September 22, OSIRIS-REx mission managers expressed confidence in the mission’s readiness. Sandra Freund, OSIRIS-REx program manager at Lockheed Martin, conveyed the collective anticipation, affirming, “Everybody feels a buzz of being less than two days away from having the Bennu samples on the ground.
The mission’s trajectory has been meticulously charted, requiring no additional manoeuvres after the final adjustment on September 17. However, a crucial orientation shift is yet to ensure precise release of the capsule towards its target. Mission planners will convene early Sunday morning to give the final clearance.
Dante Lauretta, principal investigator of the OSIRIS-REx mission, emphasized the project’s careful planning, detailing how contingencies were considered. He pointed to an incident in October 2020 when the sample collector faced a hiccup, preventing a complete mass measurement. Despite this, the estimated material returned exceeds the mission requirement by a considerable margin.
Upon touchdown, U.S. Air Force personnel will secure the landing site before recovery teams take charge. A Department of Defense helicopter will transport the capsule to a temporary clean room at Dugway Proving Ground. From there, the samples will journey to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
The ensuing two years will be dedicated to exhaustive analysis of the Bennu material, providing invaluable insights into our solar system’s early history. This mission represents a significant milestone for NASA, marking its first asteroid sample collection while standing on the shoulders of Japan’s previous Hayabusa missions.
Whatever the outcome on Sunday, valuable scientific data is assured, a testament to the mission’s careful approach and unwavering dedication.
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