Planets and Moons  ID: 13154

OSIRIS-REx LPSC Media Telecon

NASA hosted a media teleconference at 1:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday, March 19, to announce new science from the agency’s first mission to return to Earth an asteroid sample that may contain unaltered material from the very beginning of our solar system.

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft launched Sept. 8, 2016, and began orbiting the asteroid Bennu on Dec. 31, 2018. Since its arrival at Bennu, the probe has been investigating the asteroid and searching for an ideal site for sample collection.

Bennu is only slightly wider than the height of the Empire State Building and is the smallest body ever orbited by spacecraft. Studying Bennu with OSIRIS-REx will allow researchers 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 teleconference participants are:

Lori Glaze, acting director, NASA’s Planetary Science Division, Washington
Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator, University of Arizona, Tucson
Coralie Adam, OSIRIS-REx flight navigator, KinetX, Inc. Space Navigation and Flight Dynamics, Simi Valley, Calif.
Rich Burns, OSIRIS-REx project manager, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

For more information about the mission, go to nasa.gov/osirisrex or asteroidmission.org.

Learn more about the big surprises at Bennu that were announced during this teleconference, and see images of the asteroid's particle plumes and its unexpectedly rugged surface.
 

Related


For More Information

NASA.gov


Credits

Public Affairs Officers:
Nancy Neal-Jones (NASA/GSFC)
Erin Morton (The University of Arizona)

Presenters:
Nancy Neal-Jones (NASA/GSFC)
Lori S. Glaze (NASA/HQ Planetary Science)
Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona)
Coralie Adam (KinetX)
Rich Burns (NASA/GSFC)

Producers:
Dan Gallagher (USRA)
James Tralie (ADNET Systems, Inc.)

Graphic Designer:
Heather Roper (The University of Arizona)

Animators:
Walt Feimer (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
Michael Lentz (USRA)
Lisa Poje (Freelance)

Data Visualizer:
Kel Elkins (USRA)

Technical Support:
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center