The sample return pill experiences optimal heating in Earth’s environment. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/ CI Lab
Here’s How the September 24 Asteroid Sample Delivery Will Work
Early early morning on Sunday, September 24, the < period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby ="tt" data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>OSIRIS-REx</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Launched in 2016, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will help astronomers investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of near-Earth asteroids.</div>" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" > OSIRIS-REx spacecraft’s sample pill will come in person withEarth’s environment for the very first time because the objective’s2016 launch.On board are an approximated 8.8 ounces, or250 grams, of rocky product gathered from the surface area ofBennu in2020–< period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby =(********************************************************** )data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>NASA</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is "To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity." Its core values are "safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion." NASA conducts research, develops technology and launches missions to explore and study Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond. It also works to advance the state of knowledge in a wide range of scientific fields, including Earth and space science, planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics, and it collaborates with private companies and international partners to achieve its goals.</div>" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" > NASA‘s very first asteroid sample and the biggest ever gathered in area.
Capsule’sDescent toEarth
When it approachesEarth, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will not decrease as it makes its sample drop-off.Instead, when it reaches63, 000 miles( or102,000 kilometers) aboveEarth’s surface area– about one-third the range fromEarth to the(******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************* )– a message from operators on the ground will activate the pill’s release, and the pill will be sent out spinning towards the environment listed below.(***************************************************************************************************************************************************************** )minutes after the drop-off, the spacecraft will fire its thrusters to divert pastEarth towards asteroidApophis, where it will continue examining our planetary system under a brand-new name: OSIRIS-APEX (OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcloc -9 LfN0
OSIRIS-REx is NASA’s very first asteroid sample return objective. It released in September 2016 on a journey to check out a near-Earth asteroid calledBennu The objective’s thrilling ending will occur on September 24, 2023, as a pill consisting of the Bennu samples touches down in Utah’s WestDesert Credit: NASA
Meanwhile, after zooming through area for 4 hours, the pill will pierce Earth’s environment at 8: 42 a.m. MDT (10: 42 a.m. < period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby ="tt" data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>EDT</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>EDT is an abbreviation for Eastern Daylight Time, the time zone for the eastern coast of the United States and Canada when observing daylight saving time (spring/summer). It is four hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, and the Kennedy Space Center are in the Eastern Time Zone (ET).</div>" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" > EDT), taking a trip about27,650 miles per hour(44,500 kph).At this speed, the compression ofEarth’s environment will produce adequate energy to cover the pill in a superheated ball of fire. A heat guard will assist to control the temperature level inside the pill, keeping the sample safe at a temperature level comparable to that ofBennu’s surface area.
Capsule’sDescent toEarth
Parachutes will bring the pill’s descent to a safe landing speed. A drogue parachute created to supply a steady shift to subsonic speeds will release initially, about 2 minutes after the pill goes into the environment. Six minutes later on– at about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) above the desert– the primary chute will unfurl, bring the pill the remainder of the method to a 36- mile by 8.5-mile (58- kilometer by 14- kilometer) location on the military variety. At goal, the pill will have slowed to about 11 miles per hour (18 kph).
Finally, simply 13 minutes after getting in the environment, the pill will be on Earth for the very first time in 7 years, waiting for the healing group’s method.
This graphic programs the occasions that take place in between the time the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft launches its sample pill to the time it lands in the Utah desert. Credit: Lockheed Martin
About 20 minutes prior to the pill lands, when it is still high above the veil of Earth’s environment, the healing field group will board 4 helicopters and go out into the desert. The infrared radiance of the pill’s heat signature will be tracked by thermal instruments up until the pill ends up being noticeable to optical instruments, providing the healing group a method to trace the pill’s Earthbound course. The objective for the healing group is to recover the pill from the ground as rapidly as possible to prevent polluting the sample with Earth’s environment.
Sample Processing and Distribution
Once situated and packaged for travel, the pill will be flown by means of helicopter longline to a momentary tidy space on the military variety, where it will go through preliminary processing and disassembly in preparation for its journey by airplane to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the sample will be recorded, taken care of, and dispersed for analysis to researchers worldwide.
