Searching for Earth's Trojan Asteroids
-
- Visualizations by:
- Walt Feimer
- View full credits
Trojan asteroids accompany several of our solar system's planets, leading or trailing the planet in its orbit at the L4 and L5 Lagrange points. Detecting our own planet's Trojan asteroids from Earth is difficult because they appear close to the sun from our perspective. In mid-February 2017, NASA's OSIRS-REx mission will search for these elusive objects when the spacecraft passes by Earth's L4 Lagrange point, en route to asteroid Bennu in 2018.
Learn more about OSIRIS-REx's search for Earth Trojans.
Visit OSIRIS-REx at NASA and the University of Arizona.
In mid-February 2017, NASA's OSIRS-REx mission will search Earth's L4 Lagrange point for Trojan asteroids - small bodies that share Earth's orbit, and which may have been trapped there during the formation of our planet. Jim Green, the Director of Planetary Science at NASA, discusses OSIRIS-REx and its search for Earth's Trojan asteroids.
Complete transcript available.
Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.
Music: "Meadows" by Daniel Pemberton, Atmosphere Music Ltd/Killer Tracks Music
For More Information
See NASA.gov
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
-
Animators
- Walt Feimer (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) [Lead]
- Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Lisa Poje (USRA)
- Michael Lentz (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
-
Data visualizer
- Kel Elkins (USRA)
-
Graphic designer
- Heather Roper (The University of Arizona)
-
Editor
- Dan Gallagher (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
-
Interviewee
- James Green (NASA/HQ)
-
Producer
- Dan Gallagher (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
-
Videographer
- Rob Andreoli (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.)
-
Production assistant
- John Caldwell (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Related Pages
-
-
ID: 4905 Animation
A Web Around Asteroid Bennu – Visualizations
Read moreThis visualization depicts the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft’s trajectory around the asteroid Bennu from the initial arrival in Dec 2018 through the final departure in April 2021. The trajectory is presented in a Sun Bennu North reference frame. Several mission segments are highlighted in white, leading up to the TAG sample collection maneuver on Oct 20, 2020. || web_around_bennu-orbits_bennu_stars.15100_print.jpg (1024x576) [105.4 KB] || web_around_bennu-orbits_bennu_stars.15100_searchweb.png (320x180) [55.9 KB] || web_around_bennu-orbits_bennu_stars.15100_thm.png (80x40) [3.5 KB] || frames/3840x2160_16x9_60p/web_around_bennu-orbits_bennu_stars/ (3840x2160) [1.0 MB] || web_around_bennu-orbits_bennu_stars_2160p60.mp4 (3840x2160) [759.1 MB] || web_around_bennu-orbits_bennu_stars_2160p60.webm (3840x2160) [133.2 MB] ||
-
ID: 4482 Animation
OSIRIS-REx orbits, maneuvers, and mapping
Read moreThe Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security - Regolith Explorer spacecraft will travel to a near-Earth asteroid, called Bennu (formerly 1999 RQ36), and bring at least a 2.1-ounce sample back to Earth for study. The mission will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.OSIRIS-REx launched on Sept. 8, 2016, at 7:05 p.m. EDT. As planned, the spacecraft will reach its target asteroid in 2018 and return a sample to Earth in 2023. These animations depict the journey of OSIRIS-REx to Bennu and back, including the complex maneuvers that the spacecraft will perform in the asteroid's low-gravity environment. The animations are presented in chronological order. ||
-
ID: 20255 Animation
OSIRIS-REx Mission Design: Sample Acquisition Campaign
Read moreAfter nine months in orbit around asteroid Bennu, OSIRIS-REx will begin the process of maneuvering closer to the surface in preparation of the sample collection event. Once the sample site has been selected, OSIRIS-REx will break from its polar orbit to practice three flyovers of the site at increasing proximities, eventually matching Bennu's speed and rotation. The narrow-angle PolyCam will image the sample site at sub-centimeter resolution during these close passes.When OSIRIS-REx is ready, it will slowly descend to Bennu's surface at a few centimeters per second. Its outstretched arm will touch down and blow high-pressure nitrogen gas into Bennu's soil. This will force loose dust, dirt, and rocks upward into the TAGSAM head, trapping the material inside. OSIRIS-REx will then weigh and stow the captured sample for return to Earth in 2023. ||
-
ID: 20259 Animation
OSIRIS-REx Cruise Animation
Read moreAfter leaving Earth in September 2016, OSIRIS-REx spent two years traveling to asteroid Bennu. In September 2017 it flew by Earth for a gravity assist, putting the spacecraft in the right orbital inclination to rendezvous with Bennu in December 2018. ||
-
ID: 20220 Animation
Bennu's Journey
Read moreBennu's Journey is a 6-minute animated movie about NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, asteroid Bennu, and the formation of our solar system. Born from the rubble of a violent collision, hurled through space for millions of years, asteroid Bennu has had a tough life in a rough neighborhood - the early solar system. Bennu's Journey shows what is known and what remains mysterious about the evolution of Bennu and the planets. By retrieving a sample of Bennu, OSIRIS-REx will teach us more about the raw ingredients of the solar system and our own origins.The animation was produced in an 8 x 3 aspect ratio at a resolution of 5760 x 2160 and is available in its full resolution, 4K Ultra HD, 1080HD and 720HD versions in both a letter boxed and a 16 x 9 cropped format. ||
-
ID: 20221 Animation
Bennu's Journey Animation Resource Page
Read moreFull resolution frames for Hyperwall || Bennus_Journey_AE_Edit_00125_print.jpg (1024x384) [27.5 KB] || Bennus_Journey_AE_Edit_00125_searchweb.png (320x180) [24.4 KB] || Bennus_Journey_AE_Edit_00125_web.png (320x120) [13.1 KB] || Bennus_Journey_AE_Edit_00125_thm.png (80x40) [2.5 KB] || frames/5760x2160_8x3_30p/BennuEditFrames30fps/ (5760x2160) [1.0 MB] ||
-