OSIRIS-REx: Is It Over?
OSIRIS-REx: Is It Over? https://asteroidday-uploads.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/24133728/OSIRIS-REx-probe-capsule-in-the-desert-region-of-Utah.jpeg 2047 1364 Asteroid Day https://asteroidday-uploads.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/24133728/OSIRIS-REx-probe-capsule-in-the-desert-region-of-Utah.jpeg
OSIRIS-REx probe capsule in the desert region of Utah
On September 24, the OSIRIS-REx probe capsule successfully landed in the desert region of Utah, western USA, containing fragments of asteroid Bennu. Now, the probe launched in 2016 will not be deactivated. It embarked on a new mission: exploring Apophis, an asteroid that for some time left astronomers apprehensive, representing a supposed threat to Earth until 2021, when new observations ruled out this possibility.
Minutes after releasing the capsule at an altitude of approximately 100 km from Earth, the spacecraft activated its engines in a route change manoeuvre and headed towards the Sun, on a looping path. It will pass within the orbits of Venus and Earth several times, until finally meeting Apophis, scheduled to happen in April 2029, when the asteroid will be getting very close to our planet.
This new stage of the mission is now called OSIRIS-APEX (OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer) and will not collect samples from this asteroid, but will study the rock for 18 months, imaging and mapping it. Despite the disposal, the mission will be useful in better understanding objects classified as NEAs and PHAs and thus improving planetary defence efforts.
See also:
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