OSIRIS-REx Leaves its Mark on Asteroid Bennu
-
- Visualizations by:
- Kel Elkins
-
- Edited by:
- James Tralie
-
- Produced by:
- James Tralie
- View full credits
New images taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on April 7, 2021 show how the spacecraft's Touch-and-Go (TAG) sample acquisition event impacted the surface of asteroid Bennu.
Music is "Go for Launch" by David Scott Butler of Universal Production Music
Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.
Like boot prints on the Moon, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft left its mark on asteroid Bennu. Now, new images — taken during the spacecraft's final fly-over on April 7, 2021 — reveal the aftermath of the historic Touch-and-Go (TAG) sample acquisition event from October 20th, 2020.
Learn more about this observation.

Bennu's surface was disturbed in three different ways: by the force of the spacecraft touching down; by the sampling mechanism, which collected material by blowing gas into its collection filter; and by four of the spacecraft's back-away thrusters, which moved the spacecraft away from the sample site (marked with a red "X" in the second of these two images) and agitated dust and boulders on the surface.
For More Information
See NASA.gov
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
-
Animators
- Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Jacquelyn DeMink (USRA)
- Jonathan North (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Walt Feimer (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
-
Visualizer
- Kel Elkins (USRA) [Lead]
-
Image processing
- Dathon Golish (The University of Arizona/LPL) [Lead]
- Dan Gallagher (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
-
Writers
- Mikayla Kelley (The University of Arizona)
- Rani Gran (NASA/GSFC)
-
Editor
- James Tralie (ADNET Systems, Inc.) [Lead]
-
Scientists
- Jason Dworkin (NASA/GSFC)
- Michael Moreau (NASA/GSFC)
-
Art director
- Michael Lentz (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
-
Producer
- James Tralie (ADNET Systems, Inc.) [Lead]
-
Narrator
- James Tralie (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
-
Technical support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
-
Principal investigator
- Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona)