JACKSONVILLE, Fla – A spacecraft is just months away from catching up to an asteroid in an attempt to bring back rock samples to Earth.
Scientists think the rocks could hold records about the earliest history of our solar system and teach us about the history of the sun, planets, and provide answers to life’s evolution.
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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is still 1.2 million miles away from the asteroid named Bennu. but this week it will begin slowing to match Bennu’s speed just in time for a December 3, 2018 rendezvous.
After arrival, the spacecraft will begin a year long survey of Bennu to identify and map potential sample sites.
Then it will briefly touch the surface of Bennu to retrieve a sample. A burst of nitrogen gas will stir up rocks and surface material to be captured.
The spacecraft has enough nitrogen to allow three sampling attempts to collect between 2 to 70 ounces.
The window for departure back to Earth will open In March 2021, arriving two and a half years later on Sept. 24, 2023.
This mission could save human descendants from a potentially hazardous asteroid collision.
Bennu orbit has a relatively high probability of impacting the Earth late in the 22nd century between 2175 and 2196.
Part of the mission’s analysis of chemical and physical properties will be critical in mitigating a future impact.
Of the 500,000 known asteroids in the Solar System, only 5 were sample candidates.
Bennu is the ideal target because of it’s accessibility, 500 yard size, primitive composition, and potentially hazardous orbit.