by APOD Robot » Mon Dec 23, 2019 5:06 am
Places for OSIRIS-REx to Touch Asteroid Bennu
Explanation: Where is the best place to collect a surface sample from asteroid Bennu?
Launched in 2016, NASA sent the robotic
Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) to investigate the 500-meter-across asteroid
101955 Bennu. After mapping the near-Earth asteroid's dark surface, OSIRIS-REx will next touch
Bennu's surface in 2020 August to collect a surface sample. The
featured 23-second time-lapse video shows four candidate locations for the touch, from which
NASA chose just one earlier this month. NASA chose the Nightingale near Bennu's northern hemisphere as the primary touch-down spot because of its relative flatness, lack of
boulders, and apparent abundance of fine-grained sand. Location Osprey is the backup. NASA plans to
return soil samples for
Bennu to Earth in 2023 for a detailed analysis.
[url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191223.html] [img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_191223.jpg[/img] [size=150]Places for OSIRIS-REx to Touch Asteroid Bennu[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] Where is the best place to collect a surface sample from asteroid Bennu? [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161017.html]Launched in 2016[/url], NASA sent the robotic [url=https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex]Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer[/url] (OSIRIS-REx) to investigate the 500-meter-across asteroid [url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/asteroids/101955-bennu/overview/]101955 Bennu[/url]. After mapping the near-Earth asteroid's dark surface, OSIRIS-REx will next touch [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu]Bennu[/url]'s surface in 2020 August to collect a surface sample. The [url=https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4744]featured 23-second time-lapse video[/url] shows four candidate locations for the touch, from which [url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/x-marks-the-spot-nasa-selects-site-for-asteroid-sample-collection/]NASA chose just one earlier this month[/url]. NASA chose the Nightingale near Bennu's northern hemisphere as the primary touch-down spot because of its relative flatness, lack of [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190524.html]boulders[/url], and apparent abundance of fine-grained sand. Location Osprey is the backup. NASA plans to [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap181104.html]return[/url] soil samples for [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap181213.html]Bennu[/url] to Earth in 2023 for a detailed analysis.
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