NASA to collect dirt from surface of Bennu asteroid, hundreds of millions of miles from Earth - National Post

Article content continued

“Bennu is a time capsule,” Thomas Zurbuchen, the head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, told the MIT Technology Review. “It has been out there for 4.5 billion years and carries the history of that environment with it.”

While this would be the first attempt to collect dirt from Bennu, asteroid sample collection isn’t new.

So far, Japan is the only country to successfully complete such a mission, after collecting a sample from the asteroid Itokawa in 2005, and then from asteroid Ryugu in 2018. However, while Japan’s spacecraft Hayabusa 2 collected dust by firing high speed space bullets into the surface, NASA scientists are opting for another method, called TAGSAM — short for “touch-and-go acquisition mechanism.”

Image shows the TAGSAM over the surface of Bennu as scientists conduct a last dress rehearsal of OSIRIS-REx collecting a sample before October 20. Photo by NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

The plan, which will take 4.5 hours to orchestrate, will see scientists carefully nudge OSIRIS-REx out of its orbit toward the asteroid’s surface. They will use a natural feature tracking system that ensures the right location for landing and thrusters to match the spacecraft’s speed with the asteroid’s rotation to ensure it lands with correct contact and velocity.

As the spacecraft is directed towards the crater, the TAGSAM, a 3.35 metre-long arm with a collection head fitted on the end, is deployed. It will fire nitrogen gas onto the surface to stir up material toward the head for it to scoop — ideally particles that are two centimetres or smaller.

If the arm detects danger, it will execute an abort burn, launching the spacecraft away from the surface.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMie2h0dHBzOi8vbmF0aW9uYWxwb3N0LmNvbS9uZXdzL25hc2EtdG8tY29sbGVjdC1kaXJ0LWZyb20tdGhlLXN1cmZhY2Utb2YtYW4tYXN0ZXJvaWQtaHVuZHJlZHMtb2YtbWlsbGlvbnMtb2YtbWlsZXMtZnJvbS1lYXJ0aNIBqQFodHRwczovL25hdGlvbmFscG9zdC5jb20vbmV3cy9uYXNhLXRvLWNvbGxlY3QtZGlydC1mcm9tLXRoZS1zdXJmYWNlLW9mLWFuLWFzdGVyb2lkLWh1bmRyZWRzLW9mLW1pbGxpb25zLW9mLW1pbGVzLWZyb20tZWFydGgvd2NtLzdhOWY2ZGUxLTc0NWItNDAxMy05MTQ4LTUwNmYzNTM3ODQxZC9hbXAv?oc=5

2020-10-19 17:26:15Z
52781117489024