NASA's OSIRIS-REx releases asteroid sample capsule for landing on Earth
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has released the capsule containing a sample from asteroid Bennu, collected in 2020. The capsule was released at 6:42am ET (4:12pm IST) and is on course to land on Earth. When the sample capsule was let go, OSIRIS-REx was about 1,01,388km from Earth, or about one-third the distance from Earth to the Moon. The spacecraft has been diverted past Earth "toward its new mission to asteroid Apophis and was renamed OSIRIS-APEX," per NASA.
Take a look at NASA's post
Capsule will land around 8:12pm
OSIRIS-REx's sample return preparations have gone without a hitch so far. While the spacecraft is now departing from Earth after completing its mission, the sample capsule is on track to re-enter Earth's atmosphere just off the California coast. According to NASA, the capsule will enter at about 10:42am ET (8:12pm IST) and head east. It will touch down nearly 13 minutes later in a predetermined area on the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City.
Bennu sample will help unravel secrets
Short for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, the OSIRIS-REx mission was launched in 2016 to visit and collect samples from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. The 1,650-foot-wide (500 meters) asteroid will fly close to Earth in 2182. By studying Bennu's composition, scientists hope to gain insights into the early solar system and its formation. The $1 billion mission will also help better understand the composition of other similar asteroids.
OSIRIS-REx is now headed to another mission
After releasing the capsule, OSIRIS-REx made a diversion burn at 7.00am ET (4:30pm IST). The spacecraft is now headed to a new target, the asteroid Apophis. NASA officially renamed the mission OSIRIS-APEX. Apophis, roughly 1,000 feet wide, will come within 32,186km of Earth—less than one-tenth the distance between Earth and the Moon—in 2029. OSIRIS-APEX is scheduled to enter Apophis's orbit soon after the asteroid's close approach of Earth to see how the encounter affects asteroid's orbit, spin rate, and surface.
