Planets and Moons ID: 13489

OSIRIS-REx: X Marks the Spot - 2019 AGU Press Conference

Released on December 12, 2019

Close-up images of the OSIRIS-REx sample site candidates on asteroid Bennu.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission announced its primary and backup sample collection sites on asteroid Bennu, at a press conference hosted during AGU’s Fall Meeting at 2 p.m. ET, Thursday, Dec. 12.

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft launched on Sept. 8, 2016, and arrived at asteroid Bennu on Dec. 3, 2018. In mid-2020, it will briefly touch down on Bennu’s surface and collect a sample for return to Earth in late 2023.

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, director of planetary science for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters
Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson
Dani DellaGiustina, OSIRIS-REx image processing lead scientist at the University of Arizona, Tucson
Mike Moreau, OSIRIS-REx deputy project manager at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

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

4. Lauretta - The OSIRIS-REx primary sample site, Nightingale. The center of the site is marked with an X, and a silhouette of the spacecraft is added for scale.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

7. Lauretta - The OSIRIS-REx backup sample site, Osprey. The center of the site is marked with an X, and a silhouette of the spacecraft is added for scale.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

2. DellaGiustina - Bennu global image mosaic, with primary and backup sample sites labeled

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

4. DellaGiustina - The "sampleability" map for Sites Nightingale and Osprey, showing the location of sampleable material at each site. Blue regions correspond to high sampleability, while red regions correspond to low sampleability.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

2. Moreau - Size comparison of the planned sample collection safe zone before arriving at Bennu (orange), and after arriving at Bennu (blue). The safe zone for Site Nightingale is no wider than a few parking spaces.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

3. Moreau - This image shows sample site Nightingale overlaid with a simplified hazard map. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft uses this map to autonomously detect surface hazards, such as boulders or rocks, while it descends to collect a sample. The green illustrates areas that are free of hazards, and means the spacecraft will continue to the surface. Yellow demonstrates cautionary areas, and red areas contain the most hazards. If the spacecraft predicts it will touch either a yellow or red area, it will stop its descent and back away.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

Source Material

For More Information

NASA.gov

asteroidmission.org

Credits

Heather Roper (The University of Arizona): Lead Graphics
Dan Gallagher (USRA): Lead Producer
Kel Elkins (USRA): Lead Data Visualizer
Walt Feimer (KBR Wyle Services, LLC): Lead Animator
Michael Lentz (USRA): Animator
Erin Morton (The University of Arizona): Communications Lead
Nancy Neal-Jones (NASA/GSFC): Communications Lead
Lori S. Glaze (NASA/HQ Planetary Science): Presenter
Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona): Presenter
Daniella DellaGiustina (The University of Arizona/LPL): Presenter
Michael Moreau (NASA/GSFC): Presenter
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Technical Support

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