OSIRIS-REx

OSIRIS-REx
OSIRIS-APEX
Artist's rendering of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft
NamesOSIRIS-REx
OSIRIS-APEX
Mission typeAsteroid sample return[1]
OperatorNASA / Lockheed Martin
COSPAR ID2016-055A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.41757
Websitewww.asteroidmission.org
Mission duration7 years (planned)
889 days at asteroid (actual)
8 years, 1 month, 29 days (elapsed)
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerLockheed Martin
Launch mass2,110 kg (4,650 lb)[2]
Dry mass880 kg (1,940 lb)
Dimensions2.44 × 2.44 × 3.15 m (8 ft 0 in × 8 ft 0 in × 10 ft 4 in)
Power1226 to 3000 watts
Start of mission
Launch date8 September 2016, 23:05 UTC[3]
RocketAtlas V 411 (AV-067)
Launch siteCape Canaveral SLC-41
ContractorUnited Launch Alliance (ULA)
End of mission
DisposalSample Return Capsule: Recovered
Landing dateSample Return Capsule: 24 September 2023, 14:52 UTC[4]
Landing siteUtah Test and Training Range[4]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemBennu-centric
Altitude0.68–2.1 km (0.42–1.30 mi)[5][6]
Period22–62 hours[7][6]
Flyby of Earth
Closest approach22 September 2017[2][8]
Distance17,237 km (10,711 mi)
Bennu orbiter
Orbital insertion31 December 2018[9]
(Rendezvous: 3 December 2018)
Orbital departure10 May 2021[10]
Sample mass~121.6 g (4.29 oz)[11][12]
Bennu lander
Landing date20 October 2020, 22:13 (2024-11-06UTC11:40:44) UTC
Landing site"Nightingale"
Flyby of Bennu
Closest approach7 April 2021[13]
Distance3.5 km (2.2 mi)

OSIRIS-REx mission logo
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OSIRIS-REx in Launch Configuration

OSIRIS-REx[a] was a NASA asteroid-study and sample-return mission that visited and collected samples from 101955 Bennu, a carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid.[14] The material, returned in September 2023, is expected to enable scientists to learn more about the formation and evolution of the Solar System, its initial stages of planet formation, and the source of organic compounds that led to the formation of life on Earth.[15] Following the completion of the primary OSIRIS-REx (Regolith Explorer) mission, the spacecraft is planned to conduct a flyby of asteroid 99942 Apophis, now as OSIRIS-APEX (Apophis Explorer).[16]

OSIRIS-REx was launched on 8 September 2016, flew past Earth on 22 September 2017, and rendezvoused with Bennu on 3 December 2018.[17] It spent the next two years analyzing the surface to find a suitable site from which to extract a sample. On 20 October 2020, OSIRIS-REx touched down on Bennu and successfully collected a sample.[18][19][20][21] OSIRIS-REx left Bennu on 10 May 2021[22][23] and returned its sample to Earth on 24 September 2023,[24] subsequently starting its extended mission to study 99942 Apophis, where it will arrive in April 2029.

Bennu was chosen as the target of study because it is a "time capsule" from the birth of the Solar System.[25] Bennu has a very dark surface and is classified as a B-type asteroid, a sub-type of the carbonaceous C-type asteroids. Such asteroids are considered primitive, having undergone little geological change from their time of formation. In particular, Bennu was selected because of the availability of pristine carbonaceous material, a key element in organic molecules necessary for life as well as representative of matter from before the formation of Earth. Organic molecules, such as amino acids, have previously been found in meteorite and comet samples, indicating that some ingredients necessary for life can be naturally synthesized in outer space.[1]

The cost of the OSIRIS-REx mission is approximately US$800 million,[26] not including the Atlas V launch vehicle, which is about US$183.5 million.[27] The OSIRIS-APEX extended mission costs an additional US$200 million.[16] It is the third planetary science mission selected in the New Frontiers program, after Juno and New Horizons. The principal investigator is Dante Lauretta[28] from the University of Arizona, having taken over in 2011 after the original PI Michael Julian Drake died four months after the mission won approval from NASA.

OSIRIS-REx was the first United States spacecraft to return samples from an asteroid. Previous asteroid returns include the Japanese probes Hayabusa, which visited 25143 Itokawa in 2010, and Hayabusa2, which visited 162173 Ryugu in June 2018.

  1. ^ a b Brown, Dwayne C. (25 May 2011). "NASA to launch new science mission to asteroid in 2016". NASA. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2016. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ a b "OSIRIS-REx: Asteroid Sample Return Mission" (PDF) (Press Kit). NASA. August 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2016. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Graham, William (8 September 2016). "Atlas V begins OSIRIS-REx's round trip to the asteroid Bennu". NASASpaceFlight.com. NASA. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Capsule Containing Asteroid Bennu Sample Has Landed – OSIRIS-REx Mission". blogs.nasa.gov. 24 September 2023. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  5. ^ "NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission breaks another orbit record". asteroidmission.org. NASA. 13 June 2019. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ a b "Mission Update". asteroidmission.org. NASA. 25 February 2019. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ^ "Mission Update". asteroidmission.org. NASA. 12 August 2019. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ "NASA'S OSIRIS-REx spacecraft slingshots past Earth". nasa.gov. NASA. 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2018. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ^ "NASA'S OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrives at asteroid Bennu". asteroidmission.org. NASA. 3 December 2018. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. ^ "NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission plans for May asteroid departure". nasa.gov. NASA. 27 January 2021. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  11. ^ "NASA Announces OSIRIS-REx Bulk Sample Mass – OSIRIS-REx Mission". blogs.nasa.gov. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT-20231011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "NASA's OSIRIS-REx to fly a farewell tour of Bennu". nasa.gov. 8 February 2021. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  14. ^ Brown, Dwayne; Neal-Jones, Nancy (31 March 2015). "NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission passes critical milestone" (Press release). NASA. Release 15-056. Retrieved 4 April 2015. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

    Chang, Kenneth (5 September 2016). "NASA aims at an asteroid holding clues to the Solar system's roots". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
    Corum, Jonathan (8 September 2016). "NASA launches the Osiris-Rex spacecraft to asteroid Bennu". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
    Chang, Kenneth (8 September 2016). "The Osiris-Rex spacecraft begins chasing an asteroid". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  15. ^ "OSIRIS-REx mission selected for concept development" (Press release). NASA. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  16. ^ a b "NASA gives green light for OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to visit another asteroid". University of Arizona News. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT-20181203 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ "NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collects significant amount of asteroid". NASA. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  19. ^ Chang, Kenneth (20 October 2020). "Seeking Solar system's secrets, NASA's OSIRIS-REX mission touches Bennu asteroid". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 October 2020. The spacecraft attempted to suck up rocks and dirt from the asteroid, which could aid humanity's ability to divert one that might slam into Earth.
  20. ^ Greshko, Michael (29 October 2020). "NASA's OSIRIS-REx secures asteroid sample after surprise leak". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020. The spacecraft grabbed so much of the asteroid Bennu, its sample-collection device got jammed. Now the material is safe and sound.
  21. ^ Wall, Mike (31 October 2020). "NASA's OSIRIS-REx probe successfully stows space-rock sample". Scientific American. Retrieved 3 November 2020. The spacecraft will deliver the pristine material from asteroid Bennu back to Earth in 2023.
  22. ^ Chang, Kenneth (10 May 2021). "Bye-Bye, Bennu: NASA Heads Back to Earth With Asteroid Stash in Tow – The OSIRIS-REx mission will spend two years cruising home with space rock samples that could unlock secrets of the early solar system". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference returninghome was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ OSIRIS-REx factsheet (PDF). Explorers and Heliophysics Projects Division. ehpd.gsfc.nasa.gov (Report). Goddard SFC: NASA. August 2011. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  25. ^ Wall, Mike (8 September 2016). "Next stop, Bennu! NASA launches bold asteroid-sampling mission". SPACE.com.
  26. ^ "NASA aims to grab asteroid dust in 2020". Science Magazine. 26 May 2011. Archived from the original on 29 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  27. ^ Buck, Joshua; Diller, George (5 August 2013). "NASA selects launch services contract for OSIRIS-REx mission" (Press release). NASA. Retrieved 8 September 2013. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  28. ^ Miller, Katrina (22 March 2024). "Life After Asteroid Bennu – Dante Lauretta, the planetary scientist who led the OSIRIS-REx mission to retrieve a handful of space dust, discusses his next final frontier". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.


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