The return of OSIRIS-REx
On Sept. 24, 2023, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security - Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) returned to earth for the first time in almost exactly seven years. Its initial takeoff occurred on Sept. 8, 2016, and its landing marks the first occurrence in which scientists have acquired an asteroid sample from space. OSIRIS-REx now sports a new name and mission; it is now the Apophis Explorer or OSIRIS-APEX, and is estimated to enter the orbit of the asteroid Apophis in the year 2029, tripling its initial traveling journey of two years in order to reach the asteroid Bennu.
While this in itself might be worthy of little more than a cursory skim of a headline and approving head nod for those who do not have the scientific background to understand its larger implication, I hope to bring a more accessible understanding of this landmark event.
The origins of the mission were initiated by graduate students at the university of Arizona who hoped that further understanding of asteroids could help us better understand the early stages of the solar-systems configurations. Then by doing so, they hoped to be able to gain knowledge that could further scientifical groundwork for how life formed and how asteroids might impact earth in the future.
The actual collection of the asteroid sample was an aspect that proved to be quite challenging for scientists because the detailed mappings completed by OSIRIS-REx in December 2018 revealed that the surface of Bennu is rather rocky and therefore would be difficult for OSIRIS-REx to land without causing damage or difficulty with acquisition. This means it took a year for scientists to find a viable spot for data collection. This was found in the newly formed crater of “Nightingale” where OSIRIS-REx would not only retrieve the historic sample, but also be able to have access to deeper layers of Bennu with increased ease due to the increased softness made in Nightingale’s wake. From the crater OSIRIS-REx collected 60 grams of dust, pebbles, and rock samples from the asteroid’s surface to bring back to earth over the course of his two-year returning trek.
When it arrived back in earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft separated the collection capsule containing the samples from Bennu from itself. The samples then were parachuted down from the sky and were collected by scientists overlooking the mission at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training center.
It is always humbling to see firsts be completed in the final frontier that is space, and to see what it can reveal about not only the universe, but something as minute—on a cosmic scale at least— as the little ol’ earth that we call home. The theory of how life developed is one that have enthralled scientists and inquisitive minds since the dawn of time and to see any progress completed towards coming to a more holistic scope of mankind and the development of species is information that has the potential to be vital in history, anthropology, medicine, and many more fields that consider cultural, physical, social, and genetic components of life.
I am always excited to see the latest news from the stars and am anticipating updates on OSIRIS-APEX’s new outstanding mission!
Thumbnail photo via Nasa.gov