A newer version of this visualization is available.
OSIRIS-REx Mission Design: Earth Return Animations
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- Visualizations by:
- Walt Feimer
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- Scientific consulting by:
- Dante Lauretta
- View full credits
On September 24, 2023, OSIRIS-REx will return its sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth. The sample return capsule will detach from the spacecraft, perform an entry, descent and landing sequence, and touch down at the UTTR facility in Utah. The Bennu samples will be taken to Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas for curation, and will be studied by scientists around the world for decades to come.
OSIRIS-REx returns to Earth with its sample of asteroid Bennu. After releasing the sample return capsule on September 24, 2023, the spacecraft will go into orbit around the Sun.
Watch this video on the NASA.gov Video YouTube channel.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
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Animators
- Walt Feimer (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) [Lead]
- Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Josh Masters (Freelance)
- Lisa Poje (USRA)
- Michael Lentz (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Scientists
- Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona) [Lead]
- Edward Beshore (The University of Arizona)
- Jason Dworkin (NASA/GSFC)
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Producer
- Dan Gallagher (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Technical support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Related pages
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ID: 14384 B-Roll
OSIRIS-REx Sample Recovery: Field Rehearsal Two
Read moreHELICOPTER OPERATIONS REHEARSAL – Wednesday, July 1900:00 – Recovery Helicopter One touches down at staged landing area.00:25 – Helicopter safety briefing with pilot and sample recovery team members.01:43 – Helicopter One begins practice sorties with groups of team members.03:30 – Practice towing the SRC on a line and returning it to the ground.05:32 – Team members practice walking in wet and muddy conditions. ||
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ID: 14382 B-Roll
OSIRIS-REx Sample Recovery: Field Rehearsal One
Read moreRecovery team members rehearse bagging and moving OSIRIS-REx’s sample return capsule at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, ahead of the sample’s return to Earth Sept. 24.Credit: Lockheed Martin Space ||
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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. || 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 spacecraft will remain in asteroid Bennu’s vicinity until May 10, when the mission will enter its Return Cruise phase and begin its two-year journey back to Earth. This data visualization presents the mission’s complete trajectory during its time at Bennu. ||
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ID: 4744 Animation
OSIRIS-REx - Asteroid Bennu Sample Site Finalists
Read moreThe visualization begins with a rotating 3D model representation of the asteroid Bennu, created using data from the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA) instrument. Four candidate sample sites (with labels) are highlighted with PolyCam images.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || OSIRIS-REx is a mission to study and map near-Earth asteroid Bennu. Its primary science objective is to collect a sample of Bennu in mid 2020 and return it to Earth in late 2023. In preparation, mission planners have identified four candidate sample sites on Bennu's rocky surface where OSIRIS-REx could briefly touch down to collect its sample. The mission will down-select to the final two sites – a primary and a backup – in December 2019. Like the mythological Bennu bird for which the asteroid is named, all of the candidate sample sites refer to birds that can be found in Egypt.Learn more about the candidate sample sites on Bennu. ||
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ID: 13012 Produced Video
OSIRIS-REx Approach Media Telecon
Read moreRecorded audio from the OSIRIS-REx approach media teleconference on August 24, 2018, with accompanying presenter graphics. Individual graphics are available below.Watch this video on the NASA.gov Video YouTube channel. || NASA is hosting a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 24, to provide an update on upcoming activities related to the agency’s first mission to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth.The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft, which launched on Sept. 8, 2016, started asteroid science operations last week, began imaging asteroid Bennu for the first time, and is now preparing to conduct the necessary approach maneuvers to rendezvous with Bennu on Dec. 3. The mission represents a valuable opportunity to learn more about the origins of our solar system, the sources of water and organic molecules on Earth, and the hazards and resources in near-Earth space. The briefing participants are:Lori Glaze, acting director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA HeadquartersDante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona, TucsonMichael Moreau, OSIRIS-REx flight dynamics system manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterSandy Freund, OSIRIS-REx mission support area manager at Lockheed Martin SpaceFor more information, go to nasa.gov/osiris-rex or asteroidmission.org. ||
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ID: 12713 Produced Video
First NASA Mission To Collect Asteroid Sample Will Slingshot by Earth - 9.22.17 Live Shots
Read moreB-roll and canned interviews to be added on Thursday, Sept 21OSIRIS is pronounced: O-Si-Ris || NASA's first-ever mission to collect an asteroid sample will get a boost from Earth THIS Friday. On Friday, Sept. 22, Earth's gravity will slingshot OSIRIS-REx toward its target, a near-Earth asteroid named Bennu. Scientists believe asteroids like Bennu may have seeded Earth with the organic compounds that made life possible. OSIRIS-REx — the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer — is a robotic mission that will map this asteroid and then collect a sample that it will send home to Earth.OSIRIS-REx launched last year, but because Bennu's orbit is tilted six degrees in comparison to Earth's, the spacecraft needs a boost before it can get to the asteroid. Earth's game-day assist on Sept. 22nd will position it to reach Bennu's path in 2018. One of the best ways to change the trajectory of a spacecraft (without carrying extra fuel) is by using the gravity of a planet or large moon to catapult it, and that’s exactly how our home planet will help OSIRIS-REx match the asteroid's path and speed. Join NASA scientists on Friday, Sept. 22, from 6:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. EST – just hours before Earth slingshots OSIRIS-REx toward asteroid Bennu – to find out why this maneuver is critical to the mission’s success, and how OSIRIS-REx could uncover the materials and processes that enabled life on Earth.When it arrives at Bennu next year, OSIRIS-REx will map the asteroid, study its orbit and collect samples that will be sent to Earth in 2023. There are more than half a million known asteroids in our solar system, but Bennu is an ideal candidate for closer study because of its size, composition and proximity to Earth. Bennu is an artifact of the ancient solar system, a silent witness to the titanic events in our solar system’s 4.6 billion-year history.****To book a window contact: Michelle Handleman/ michelle.z.handleman@nasa.gov / 301-286-0918.****HD Satellite Digital Coordinates: HD Satellite Coordinates for SES2-K21/AB: SES 2, Ku-band Xp 21, Channel AB | 87.0 ° W Longitude | DL 12111.0 MHz | Horizontal Polarity | QPSK/DVB-S | FEC 3/4 | SR 13.235 Mbps | DR 18.2954 MHz | HD 720p | Format MPEG2 | Chroma Level 4:2:0 | Audio EmbeddedSuggested Questions:1.What is OSIRIS-REx and where is it going? 2.Earth's gravity will slingshot OSIRIS-REx to the asteroid. How does that work? 3.Asteroids are time capsules from the beginning of our solar system. What’s so exciting about this particular asteroid?4.What's it going to look like when NASA high-fives an asteroid to collect a sample?5.Where can we learn more?Extra Questions for Longer Interviews:1.How do you determine when and where to get the sample from Bennu?2.What kind of science do we hope to gain from studying Bennu, especially with samples here on Earth?3.What will OSIRIS-REx do that's never been done before? 4.What will scientists do with the asteroid sample once it gets to Earth?5.How have previous missions helped NASA perfect the art of the gravity assist?6.Bennu is just one of hundreds of thousands of asteroids out there. How can studying asteroids keep us safe?Live Shot Details:Location: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Greenbelt, MarylandScientists:Dr. Jim Garvin / NASA Goddard Chief Scientist Dr. Christina Richey / OSIRIS-REx Deputy Program ScientistDr. Michelle Thaller/ NASA Scientist ||
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ID: 20251 Animation
OSIRIS-REx Earth Gravity Assist
Read moreWhen OSIRIS-REx flies by Earth on September 22, 2017, it will use our planet's gravity as a slingshot to catch asteroid Bennu. Complete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Music provided by Killer Tracks:"Origin" by Axel Tenner, Michael Schluecker, and Raphael Schalz ||
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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. ||
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ID: 20261 Animation
Journey to Bennu Trailer
Read moreOfficial trailer for NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission to asteroid Bennu.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is on a mission to explore asteroid Bennu and return a sample to Earth. The OSIRIS-REx launch window opens on September 8, 2016, when the spacecraft begins its two-year journey to Bennu aboard an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida. After arriving at Bennu in 2018, OSIRIS-REx will spend over a year exploring the asteroid before approaching its surface to grab a sample. This pristine material, formed at the dawn of the solar system, will be returned to Earth in 2023, providing clues to Bennu's origins and our own.NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering and safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta is the mission's principal investigator at the University of Arizona. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages New Frontiers for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. ||
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ID: 20253 Animation
OSIRIS-REx Launch and Deployment Animations
Read moreOSIRIS-REx begins its journey to near-Earth asteroid Bennu from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. In addition to the launch vehicle's liquid-fueled main engine, its 411 configuration includes a strap-on solid rocket booster and a Centaur upper stage. When the launch window opens on the evening of September 8, 2016, the Atlas V will lift OSIRIS-REx above the Florida coastline and propel it eastward over the night side of Earth. Fifty-nine minutes later, OSIRIS-REx will separate from the Centaur upper stage, point its solar arrays at the rising sun, and embark on its nearly two-year cruise to Bennu. ||
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ID: 20254 Animation
OSIRIS-REx Resource Page
Read moreThis page contains graphics and animation resources related to near-Earth asteroid Bennu, the target of NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. || Large format image of OSIRIS-REx before sampling Bennu. || Bennu title sequence || Bennu size comparision. ||
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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. ||
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ID: 20256 Animation
OSIRIS-REx Bennu Mapping Animations
Read moreOSIRIS-REx will spend over a year orbiting and mapping asteroid Bennu in preparation of the mission's main science goal – collecting a sample of Bennu for return to Earth in 2023. || Edited movie of mapping animations || OSIRIS-REx arrival at Bennu. || Bennu reveal. || Detailed survey of Bennu. || OSIRIS-REx mapping Bennu. || OSIRIS-REx flying over Bennu || OSIRIS-REx mapping Bennu ||
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ID: 20258 Animation
OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft and Instrument Animations
Read moreOSIRIS-REx is a solar-powered spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems. The spacecraft bus measures 3.2 meters high by 2.4 meters wide (about 10x8 feet). With its solar arrays deployed, the spacecraft spans 6.2 meters in length (over 20 feet). A high-gain antenna on the sun-pointed side of OSIRIS-REx enables communication with Earth. On the opposite side is the TAGSAM, a 3.4-meter-long, folding arm that will reach out and grab a sample of the mission's target, near-Earth asteroid Bennu. ||
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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. || OSIRIS-REx makes its outbound cruise to asteroid Bennu. ||
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ID: 12339 Animation
OSIRIS-REx L-14 Press Briefing Graphics
Read moreOSIRIS-REx is on a mission to study asteroid Bennu and return a sample to Earth. The graphics on this page were created to support the OSIRIS-REx L-14 press briefing at NASA headquarters on August 17, 2016. All videos are available for download in broadcast quality. The majority of the videos do not contain audio. Links to 4K-resolution versions appear at the bottom of the page.Watch the OSIRIS-REx L-14 press conference.Learn more about OSIRIS-REx from NASA and the University of Arizona. || 1. Gordon Johnston - Spacecraft introduction ||
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ID: 12357 Produced Video
OSIRIS-REx L-2 Science Briefing Graphics
Read moreThis page contains supporting graphics for the OSIRIS-REx L-2 science briefing from Kennedy Space Center on September 6, 2016. OSIRIS-REx is a NASA mission to explore asteroid Bennu and return a sample to Earth. The graphics on this page are available for download in broadcast resolution. These graphics do not include audio.Watch the OSIRIS-REx L-2 Science Briefing.To learn more, visit NASA's OSIRIS-REx website and asteroidmission.org. || 1. Christina Richey - Asteroid Bennu accessibility || 2. Christina Richey - Asteroid Bennu size comparison ||
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ID: 14406 Produced Video
![Ride along with OSIRIS-REx during the thrilling finale of its journey to Bennu and back.Complete transcript available.Universal Production Music: “A Sense of Urgency” and “Rise to the Challenge” by Daniel Marantz and Michael James Burns, Raydia Music library [PRS]; “Fragments of Time” by Timothy Robert Shortell, Scores of Hypersonic Music [BMI]Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.](/vis/a010000/a014400/a014406/OSIRIS-REx_Journeys_End_Preview_V3_print.jpg)
To Bennu and Back: Journey’s End
Read moreRide along with OSIRIS-REx during the thrilling finale of its journey to Bennu and back.Complete transcript available.Universal Production Music: “A Sense of Urgency” and “Rise to the Challenge” by Daniel Marantz and Michael James Burns, Raydia Music library [PRS]; “Fragments of Time” by Timothy Robert Shortell, Scores of Hypersonic Music [BMI]Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. ||
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ID: 13906 Produced Video
OSIRIS-REx Bennu Impact Probability – Media Telecon
Read moreNASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Aug. 11, to discuss an important finding from NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft.OSIRIS-REx spent over two years near the asteroid Bennu, which is a third of a mile (500 meters) wide. During that time, the spacecraft gathered information about Bennu’s size, shape, mass, and composition while monitoring its spin and orbital trajectory. Before leaving the near-Earth object May 10, 2021, the spacecraft scooped up a sample of rock and dust from the asteroid’s surface. OSIRIS-REx will return the sample to Earth Sept. 24, 2023, for further scientific study.The teleconference will stream live online at: http://www.nasa.gov/liveParticipants in the briefing will be:•Dante Lauretta, study co-author and OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona in Tucson•Davide Farnocchia, study lead author and scientist with the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California•Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland•Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer at NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA Headquarters in WashingtonFor more information about the OSIRIS-REx mission to Bennu, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rexLearn more about asteroid Bennu’s updated impact hazard.Read the science paper on Icarus. ||
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ID: 13504 Produced Video
![NASA Science Live: OSIRIS-REx - X Marks the Spot [Episode 13]Air Date: December, 12, 2019Watch this video on the ScienceAtNASA YouTube channel.](/vis/a010000/a013500/a013504/NSL_ep13_still_print.jpg)
NASA Science Live: OSIRIS-REx - X Marks the Spot (Episode 13)
Read moreNASA Science Live: OSIRIS-REx - X Marks the Spot [Episode 13]Air Date: December, 12, 2019Watch this video on the ScienceAtNASA YouTube channel. || This episode of NASA Science Live is broadcasting live from AGU in San Francisco. We have breaking news on our satellite OSIRIS-REx which is orbiting an asteroid named Bennu - and some of its mineral fragments could be older than the solar system itself. These microscopic grains of dust could be the same ones that spewed from dying stars and eventually came together to make the Sun and its planets nearly 4.6 billion years ago. And today we'll announce the site where OSIRIS-REx will attempt to collect at least 30 sugar packets worth of dirt and rocks from Bennu's surface. ||
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ID: 11825 Animation
OSIRIS-REx Mission Design: Narrated Feature
Read moreThe OSIRIS-REx mission design includes complex trajectories, polar orbits, and reconnaissance flyovers that will allow the spacecraft to thoroughly explore asteroid Bennu.Music provided by Killer Tracks: Electric Cosmos, Inducing Waves, Newfound Lands, Crystal Sound Bath, ImperatumWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. ||
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ID: 12707 Produced Video
OSIRIS-REx Launch Anniversary
Read moreHighlights and interviews from the launch of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on September 8, 2016. Complete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Music provided by Killer Tracks: "Uncertain Tragedy," "Particles and Fields," "The Pressure Continues," "Fear Index," "Favor" || On September 8, 2016, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft began its journey to near-Earth asteroid Bennu. As the sun began to set over Cape Canaveral, OSIRIS-REx made a picture-perfect liftoff from pad 41 aboard an Atlas V rocket, cheered on by crowds of mission personnel and space enthusiasts. This video revisits the launch with interviews and highlights from Kennedy Space Center, as OSIRIS-REx continues its seven-year journey to Bennu and back.Learn more about OSIRIS-REx from NASA and the University of Arizona. ||
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ID: 12360 Animation
![To Bennu and BackMusic credits: "Defenders of the Earth" and "Finding Gaia" by Daniel Jay Nielson [ASCAP]; Atmosphere Music Ltd PRS; Volta Music; Killer Tracks Production Music](/vis/a010000/a012300/a012360/ToBennuAndBack_thumbnail.jpg)
To Bennu and Back
Read moreNASA's latest New Frontiers mission, OSIRIS-REx, will venture to a near-Earth asteroid to discover clues about the unique resources asteroids hold, processes that affect asteroids' orbital paths and their potential for impacting Earth, and the origins of life in the solar system. In addition, OSIRIS-REx will collect a sample from the surface of the asteroid and return it to Earth for generations of scientists to study and analyze, making this the first American asteroid sample return mission and the largest sample returned from an extraterrestrial body since Apollo. OSIRIS-REx's launch window opens September 8, 2016. This is the journey #ToBennuAndBack. ||
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ID: 20381 Animation
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return: Animations
Read moreRide along with OSIRIS-REx on the thrilling finale of its journey to Bennu and back.Universal Production Music: “Rise to the Challenge” by Daniel Marantz and Michael James Burns, Raydia Music library [PRS]; “Fragments of Time” by Timothy Robert Shortell, Scores of Hypersonic Music [BMI]Watch this video on the NASA.gov Video YouTube channel. ||
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ID: 10960 Produced Video
OSIRIS-REx Animations
Read moreTHIS PAGE FEATURES OLDER CONTENT FOR OSIRIS-REx. NEWER CONTENT IS AVAILABLE ON THE OSIRIS-REx GALLERY. || An overview video of the OSIRIS-REx mission. || The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft apporaches asteroid Bennu. || Another view of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft approaching asteroid Bennu. || OSIRIS-REx performs remote sensing observations of asteroid Bennu. || OSIRIS-REx deploys its Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechansim (TAGSAM) instrument. || OSIRIS-REx collects a sample of asteroid Bennu. || Exterior view of OSIRIS-REx collecting a sample of asteroid Bennu with its Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM). ||
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