Asteroid Bennu’s Surprising Surface Revealed by OSIRIS-REx
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When OSIRIS-REx touched down on asteroid Bennu, it encountered a surface of loose rocks and pebbles just barely held together by gravity.
Complete transcript available.
Universal Production Music: “Subsurface” by Ben Niblett and Jon Cotton
Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.
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Revisit the TAG event in this narrated video and learn why asteroid Bennu’s surface is surprisingly weak.
Complete transcript available.
Universal Production Music: “Difficult Conversation” and “Into Motion” by Peter Larsen; “Big Data” by Dominique Dalcan; “Subsurface” by Ben Niblett and Jon Cotton; “Crypto Current” by Dominique Dalcan; “Spaceman” by Rainman
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When OSIRIS-REx touched down on asteroid Bennu, it encountered a surface of loose rocks and pebbles just barely held together by gravity.
Complete transcript available.
Universal Production Music: “Subsurface” by Ben Niblett and Jon Cotton
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab/Scientific Visualization Studio
Animators
- Jonathan North (KBRwyle) [Lead]
- Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (KBRwyle)
- Alexander Bodnar (AIMM)
- Lisa Poje (Freelance)
- Walt Feimer (KBRwyle)
Data visualizer
- Kel Elkins (USRA) [Lead]
Scientists
- Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona) [Lead]
- Kevin J. Walsh (Southwest Research Institute)
- Olivier Barnouin (JHUAPL)
- Ron Ballouz (The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)
Producers
- Dan Gallagher (KBRwyle) [Lead]
- James Tralie (ADNET)
Narrators
- Dan Gallagher (KBRwyle) [Lead]
- James Tralie (ADNET)
Support
- Ernie Wright (USRA)
Technical support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET)
Public affairs officers
- Nancy Neal-Jones (NASA/GSFC)
- Rani Gran (NASA/GSFC)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Related pages
OSIRIS-REx Touches Asteroid Bennu
Oct. 21, 2020, 1:15 p.m.
Read moreOSIRIS-REx touches down on asteroid Bennu at 6:08pm EDT on October 20th, 2020.Music is by Jochen Reinhold Flach of Universal Production Music.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. Captured on Oct. 20, during the OSIRIS-REx mission’s Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection event, this series of 82 images shows the SamCam imager’s field of view as the NASA spacecraft approaches and touches down on asteroid Bennu’s surface. The sampling event brought the spacecraft all the way down to sample site Nightingale, and the team on Earth received confirmation of successful touchdown at 6:08 pm EDT. Preliminary data show the sampling head touched Bennu’s surface for approximately 6 seconds, after which the spacecraft performed a back-away burn.
OSIRIS-REx Post-TAG Briefing
Oct. 21, 2020, 1:09 p.m.
Read more1. Lauretta - TAG Movie 1Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona NASA is hosting a press briefing on Oct. 21 to unveil new videos of the OSIRIS-REx sample collection attempt.The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft unfurled its robotic arm on Oct. 20, 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. If the sample collection event, known as “Touch-And-Go” (TAG), provided enough of a sample, mission teams will command the spacecraft to begin stowing the precious primordial cargo to begin its journey back to Earth in March 2021. 2. Lauretta - TAG Movie 2Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona 3. Lauretta - TAG Movie 3Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona 1. Burns - TAGSAM ExplainedOSIRIS-REx descended to the surface of asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of fine-grained material from site Nightingale using its TAGSAM instrument.Credit: NASA/Goddard/CI Lab 2. Burns - Nightingale Hazard Map and TAG LocationCredit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona 3. Burns - BackawayAfter collecting the sample of Bennu, OSIRIS-REx fired its thrusters and backed away to a safe distance from the asteroid.Credit: NASA/Goddard/CI Lab/SVS 1. Freund - Sample Imaging VerificationOSIRIS-REx will use its SamCam instrument to visually inspect the TAGSAM head and verify sample collection.Credit: NASA/Goddard/CI Lab 2. Freund - Sample Mass MeasurementTo measure the mass of the collected sample, OSIRIS-REx will extend its TAGSAM arm and perform a spin maneuver.Credit: NASA/Goddard/CI Lab 1. BridenstineNASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. Credit: NASA 1. ZurbuchenNASA Science Associate Administrator Dr. Thomas H. Zurbuchen. Credit: NASA
OSIRIS-REx TAG Events
Oct. 19, 2020, 8 p.m.
Read moreOSIRIS-REx Mission Support Area - TAG Sequence and CelebrationB-ROLL OSIRIS-REx, which is about the size of a 15-passenger van, is currently orbiting the asteroid Bennu 200 million miles from Earth. Bennu contains material from the early solar system and may contain the molecular precursors to life and Earth’s oceans. The asteroid is about as tall as the Empire State Building and could potentially threaten Earth late in the next century, with a 1‐in‐2,700 chance of impacting our planet during one of its close approaches. OSIRIS-REx is now ready to take a sample of this ancient relic of our solar system and bring its stories and secrets home to Earth. OSIRIS-REx TAG Event: NASA s First Asteroid Sample Collection Attempt Live Broadcast - October 20, 2020Watch this video on the NASA.gov Video YouTube channel. OSIRIS-REx Post TAG BriefingLive Broadcast - October 21, 2020Watch this video on the NASA.gov Video YouTube channel.
NASA’s Asteroid Heist: The Challenges of TAG
Oct. 14, 2020, 5:30 a.m.
Read moreNASA by Peter NickallsWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx, will make a daring attempt to “TAG” asteroid Bennu on Oct. 20 – touch its surface and collect a sample for return to Earth. Sample site Nightingale, the mission’s targeted touch down spot, is only a few parking spaces wide and surrounded by building-sized boulders that pose a hazard to OSIRIS-REx. The spacecraft will carefully navigate down to the sample site with its sampling arm extended and touch Bennu’s surface for several seconds. Upon contact, the collector head will fire a bottle of nitrogen gas to agitate loose material, which is then caught in the spacecraft’s collector head. After this brief touch, OSIRIS-REx will fire its thrusters to back away from Bennu, navigating to a safe distance from the asteroid. The spacecraft will depart Bennu in 2021 and deliver the sample to Earth on Sep. 24, 2023.
Gravity on the Moon vs. Asteroid Bennu: Animation
July 7, 2022, 11:20 a.m.
Read moreThe lunar surface is better at resisting impacts than the loose surface of asteroid Bennu – thanks to the Moon’s much stronger gravity. Asteroid Bennu is a dark, jumbled mass of rocks and boulders left over from the formation of the solar system. Roughly the height of a skyscraper, Bennu’s loose surface materials are held together by an incredibly weak gravitational field – with a minute tug less than one-hundred-thousandth the pull of Earth. What would it be like to touch down on such an environment?On the Moon, gravity is sixteen percent as strong as it is on Earth and more than sixteen thousand times stronger than it is on Bennu. As a result, loose material in the lunar subsurface is packed together more tightly, making the Moon’s surface relatively firm. If a fifty-kilogram mass of solid iron were to hit the Moon traveling at ten centimeters per second, it would sink into the ground by only half a centimeter.Repeating this experiment at Bennu would yield a dramatically different result. Though the mass would strike the asteroid’s surface with the same force, it would plunge seventeen centimeters before stopping – over thirty times deeper than at the Moon.Learn more about the surface properties of asteroid Bennu.
Thirty Seconds on Asteroid Bennu: Animation
July 7, 2022, 10:30 a.m.
Read moreData-driven animation showing how the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft impacted asteroid Bennu s surface when it touched down and collected a sample. On October 20, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected a sample of asteroid Bennu. The event revealed surprising details about Bennu’s surface and near-subsurface.00:01 - One second after contact, OSIRIS-REx injected Bennu with pressurized nitrogen gas, causing an explosion of particles and driving loose material into its sample collector.00:06 - Six seconds after contact, while it was still sinking into Bennu, OSIRIS-REx fired its thrusters to begin the back-away maneuver.00:09 - Nine seconds after contact, thrusters on board OSIRIS-REx halted its descent into Bennu, pushing it away from the asteroid, and blasting loose material from the sample site. The spacecraft’s arm had sunk almost half a meter beneath the surface – far deeper than expected, confirming that Bennu’s surface is incredibly weak.00:16 - Sixteen seconds after contact, the arm fully reemerged from the subsurface. OSIRIS-REx had collected a handful of material and kicked up roughly six tons of loose rock.00:30 - Thirty seconds after contact, it shut off its thrusters and drifted away from Bennu. OSIRIS-REx will return its sample to Earth in September 2023.Learn more about the surface properties of asteroid Bennu.
Bennu TAG Surface Change
July 7, 2022, 10 a.m.
Read moreThis visualization begins with a top-down view of a high resolution digital terrain model (DTM) of the Nightingale TAG sample site on Bennu. As the camera moves closer, data representing the surface height change pre-post TAG fades on. The surface height change as a result of the TAG event is represented by both a color map and by offsetting the original DTM to reveal the TAG crater. The DTM offset is applied to the surface region within ~7.5 meters of impact, which is highlighted for emphasis. With this color bar, yellows, greens, and blues represent a decrease in elevation, light red represents no change in elevation, and dark red represents an increase in elevation. Thruster marks and a region of ejected surface material are labeled. The camera does a 360 degree spin around the sample site before returning to a top-down view of the color-mapped data. The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft arrived at near-Earth asteroid Bennu in December 2018. After studying the asteroid for nearly two years, the spacecraft successfully performed a Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection maneuver on October 20, 2020. The change in surface topography as a result of the sample collection maneuver is observed by comparing pre-TAG and post-TAG digital terrain models (DTM), revealing the newly-formed TAG crater. OSIRIS-REx will return its sample of Bennu to Earth in September 2023. Same visualization as above, but without “Point of Impact,” and “Thruster Mark” labels Still image - Top-down view of a high resolution digital terrain model (DTM) of the Nightingale TAG sample site on Bennu. Still image - Oblique view of the Nightingale TAG sample site with the TAG impact location labeled. Still image - Oblique view of the TAG sample site with pre-post surface height change data represented by both a color map and by offsetting the original DTM to reveal the TAG crater. The DTM offset is only applied to the surface region within ~7.5 meters of impact, which is highlighted for emphasis. Still image - Oblique view of the TAG sample site with pre-post surface height change data represented by both a color map and by offsetting the original DTM to reveal the TAG crater. The DTM offset is only applied to the surface region within ~7.5 meters of impact, which is highlighted for emphasis. Additional surface features resulting from TAG are labeled. Still image - Top-down view of a high resolution digital terrain model (DTM) of the Nightingale TAG sample site on Bennu with pre-post surface height change data.
OSIRIS-REx Farewell to Bennu: Animation
May 10, 2021, noon
Read moreOSIRIS-REx leaving Bennu, returning to Earth. At approximately 4:16 p.m. EDT on May 10, 2021, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will fire its main thrusters for seven minutes and start its long journey home with more than 60 grams (2.1 ounces) of asteroid material in its Sample Return Capsule.OSIRIS-REx s path to intersect Earth and achieve a successful sample return at the Utah Test and Training Range on September 24, 2023, between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. EDT.
OSIRIS-REx TAG Event: Real-time Animation
Oct. 19, 2020, 8 p.m.
Read moreReal-time animation of the OSIRIS-REx Touch-And-Go (TAG) Event. This animation accurately depicts the spacecraft s terrain. Broadcast playback was adjusted for the light-time delay from Bennu to Earth (plus signal processing), providing viewers with a real-time window onto the TAG Event.Highlights can be found at the following animation time steps (hours: minutes: seconds):00:29:03 - First move to Y-Wing configuration00:34:29 - Second move to Y-Wing configuration00:39:54 - Y-Wing configuration complete00:43:27 - Checkpoint engine burn start00:54:34 - Matchpoint engine burn start01:05:10 - TOUCH asteroid Bennu01:05:18 - Back-away engine burn start01:06:43 - Begin slew to Pegasus configurationAnimation frames are organized into chapters for ease of download.
OSIRIS-REx TAG Event: Animations
Oct. 19, 2020, 5 a.m.
Read moreThe Checkpoint burn sends OSIRIS-REx toward sample site Nightingale. This media resource page provides animations of the OSIRIS-REx Touch-And-Go (TAG) event. OSIRIS-REx is NASA s surface for only a few seconds, OSIRIS-REx will fire its thrusters and back away to a safe distance with its precious cargo.
TAG Event – Visualizations
Oct. 15, 2020, 5 a.m.
Read moreThis visualization depicts the OSIRIS-REx TAG on October 20, 2020. The OSIRIS-REx satellite is represented by an orange dot and trail. The visualization begins with the satellite’s departure from orbit and continues through the checkpoint, matchpoint, TAG, and backaway maneuvers. On Oct. 20, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will perform the first attempt of its Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection event. This series of maneuvers will bring the spacecraft down to site Nightingale, a rocky area 52 ft (16 m) in diameter in Bennu’s northern hemisphere, where the spacecraft’s robotic sampling arm will attempt to collect a sample. Site Nightingale was selected as the mission’s primary sample site because it holds the greatest amount of unobstructed fine-grained material, but the region is surrounded by building-sized boulders. During the sampling event, the spacecraft, which is the size of a large van, will attempt to touch down in an area that is only the size of a few parking spaces, and just a few steps away from some of these large boulders.During the 4.5-hour sample collection event, the spacecraft will perform three separate maneuvers to reach the asteroid’s surface. The descent sequence begins with OSIRIS-REx firing its thrusters for an orbit departure maneuver to leave its safe-home orbit approximately 2,500 feet (770 meters) from Bennu s rotation at the time of contact. The spacecraft then descends to the surface, touches down for less than sixteen seconds and fires one of its three pressurized nitrogen bottles. The gas agitates and lifts Bennu’s surface material, which is then caught in the spacecraft’s collector head. After this brief touch, OSIRIS-REx fires its thrusters to back away from Bennu’s surface and navigates to a safe distance from the asteroid. This is a closer view of the TAG, focusing on the checkpoint, matchpoint, TAG, and backaway maneuvers. White labels appear to highlight checkpoint and matchpoint. The TAG location is indicated with a marker that changes from white to green once the TAG has occurred. This a closer view of the TAG in a Bennu-fixed reference frame. A thin green line shows the future trajectory of OSIRIS-REx down to the TAG site. White labels appear to highlight checkpoint and matchpoint maneuvers. The TAG location is indicated with a marker that changes from white to green once the TAG has occurred. This is a view of the TAG event from the perspective of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. The visualization begins with the satellite’s departure from orbit and continues through the checkpoint, matchpoint, TAG, and backaway maneuvers. This is a view of the TAG event from the perspective of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. The visualization begins with the satellite’s departure from orbit and continues through the checkpoint, matchpoint, TAG, and backaway maneuvers. This version is about four times slower than the previous version and includes more of the backaway. This is a slower view of the TAG event from the perspective of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. The visualization begins just after the checkpoint maneuver and continues through matchpoint, TAG, and backaway.
Tour of Asteroid Bennu – Visualizations
Oct. 8, 2020, 10 a.m.
Read moreThis first shot of the sequence begins with OSIRIS-REx’s arrival at the asteroid Bennu. A low resolution view of the asteroid is presented and thermal inertia data fades in, representing our initial understanding of the asteroid. The asteroid then spins quickly to serve as a transition to the second shot in the sequence. 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 instead OSIRIS-REx was greeted by a rugged world littered with boulders – the size of cars, the size of houses, the size of football fields.This video explores several interesting features of Bennu. The surface features are presented in vivid detail thanks to detailed terrain data from the OLA instrument and high resolution imagery from the PolyCam instrument. This second shot in the sequence begins with a fast spinning Bennu, matching the end of the first shot in the sequence. As Bennu’s rotation decelerates, a highly detailed view of the asteroid is revealed using 20cm terrain elevation data (OLA) and high resolution imagery (PolyCam). The camera then zooms in and flys over several locations - Simurgh, Roc, Gargoyle, and Ocypete. Each of these locations are presented using 5cm terrain elevation tiles. The third shot of the sequence begins with a dramatic reveal of BenBen, the tallest boulder on Bennu. The shot begins in darkness and sunlight sweeps across the surface of the asteroid. The camera rotates down to the horizon to show the height of the boulder before zooming over to a view of two boulders found to contain pyroxene. The camera then zooms back out to a global view and we see OSIRIS-REx in orbit around the asteroid.
OSIRIS-REx – Detailed Global Views of Asteroid Bennu
Sept. 20, 2020, 8 p.m.
Read moreLooping animation of asteroid Bennu rotating. This 3D model of Bennu was created using 20cm resolution laser altimetry data and imagery taken by OSIRIS-REx. 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 instead OSIRIS-REx was greeted by a rugged world littered with boulders – the size of cars, the size of houses, the size of football fields.The 3D animations on this page were created using laser altimetry data and imagery of Bennu taken by OSIRIS-REx.The Bennu albedo map was generated using images acquired by PolyCam during Baseball Diamond Flyby 1. The images were photometrically normalized to represent the innate albedo of Bennu’s surface. Details for the creation of the map can be found in the forthcoming publication “A High-Resolution Normal Albedo Map of Asteroid (101955) Bennu” by Golish et al. Icarus (2020). Polar regions that were not imaged in Flyby 1 are visualized using the Bennu global basemap, created from PolyCam images acquired during Baseball Diamond Flybys 3 and 4. Details for the creation of the basemap can be found in “A high-resolution global Basemap of (101955) Bennu” by Bennett et al. Icarus (2020). Looping animation of sunlight sweeping across the surface of Bennu. This 3D model of Bennu was created using 20cm resolution laser altimetry data and imagery taken by OSIRIS-REx. Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu. The Nightingale sample site is visible in the northern hemisphere. Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu. The Nightingale sample site is visible in the northern hemisphere. Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu Print resolution (5760x3240 pixels) still image of Bennu
OSIRIS-REx Mission Design: Sample Acquisition Campaign
Aug. 17, 2016, 10 a.m.
Read moreOSIRIS-REx approaches Bennu After 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 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. TAG Arm Deploy TAG Arm Deploy Reverse OSIRIS-REx desending to Bennu OSIRIS-REx approach continued TAGSAM getting closer OSIRIS-REx almost there Contact OSIRIS-REx Pulls away TAG Maneuver Interior Cutaway OSIRIS-REx backs away from Bennu Sample Verification OCAMS SamCam Sample Verification OCAMS Sam Cam 2 Sample Mass Measurement Sample Stowage Sequence Sample Stowage Sequence Closeup OSIRIS-REx Stows the TAG Arm Returning to Earth