Publication Date:
2019-07-13
Description:
The OSIRIS-REx mission (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security Regolith Explorer) is the third NASA New Frontiers mission. It is scheduled for launch in 2016. The primary objective of the mission is to return at least 60 g of "pristine" material from the B-type near- Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu, which is spectrally similar to organic-rich CI or CM meteorites [1]. The study of these samples will advance our understanding of materials available for the origin of life on Earth or elsewhere. The spacecraft will rendezvous with Bennu in 2018 and spend at least a year characterizing the asteroid before executing a maneuver to recover a sample of regolith in the touch-and-go sample acquisition mechanism (TAGSAM). The TAGSAM and sample is stowed in the sample return capsule (SRC) and returned to Earth in 2023.
Keywords:
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration; Life Sciences (General)
Type:
GSFC-E-DAA-TN21553
,
Astrobiology Science Conference 2015 (AbSciCon2015); Jun 15, 2015 - Jun 19, 2015; Chicago, IL; United States
Format:
application/pdf
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