Current:Home > ScamsWhat to know about NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
What to know about NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission
lotradecoin trading with stablecoins View Date:2024-12-26 05:27:13
A seven-year-long NASA mission will come to an end on Sunday and -- if all goes as planned -- the first asteroid sample collected in space will land on Earth.
Back in September 2016, the federal space agency launched the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on a daring mission to snare a batch of rocks from the asteroid Bennu, located about 200 million miles away.
MORE: Asteroid that passes nearby could hit Earth in the future, NASA says
The spacecraft is now heading back into Earth's orbit now and will jettison its cargo over the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. If successfully performed, it will release a capsule containing nearly nine ounces of rock and soil believed to be 4.5 billion years old.
OSIRIS-REx will be visible above Salt Lake City at 6:41 a.m. ET and will release its capsule 63,000 miles above Earth about a minute later.
The spacecraft will then fly in tandem for 20 minutes before firing its thrusters to head off onto its next mission to the asteroid Adophis, reaching it in 2029.
NASA will air a live stream of the delivery beginning at 10 a.m. ET and the capsule will enter Earth's atmosphere around 10:42 a.m. ET. The canister cover will be ejected at 102,000 feet and the drogue parachutes will then be deployed to stabilize the capsule.
Finally, the capsule has a projected lading in the Utah dessert at 10:55 a.m. ET.
If OSIRIS-REx does not make this window, the next attempt would be in 2025 because that's when it will next orbit Earth.
Nicole Lunning, lead OSIRIS-REx sample curator -- who is responsible for taking care of the sample after landing -- said it could change what we know about the origins of the solar system.
MORE: Astronaut Frank Rubio marks 1 year in space after breaking US mission record
"This sample is so important because it's really going to give us a new insight into understanding how our solar system formed and the building blocks of life that may have been contributed to the planets on Earth as well as if we have life elsewhere in our solar system," she told ABC News.
To be mindful about organic contaminants, the samples will be stored in a hyper clean room built just for the mission in Building 31 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where all the Apollo moon rocks were also processed.
Lunning said that just about any scientist from the broader community who requests a sample will be able to receive one as soon as possible.
"There are hundreds of scientists around the world who are super excited to be able to study these samples to answer new scientific questions that we haven't been able to answer with the samples that we have on Earth right now," she said.
This is not the first time NASA has attempted a sample return mission. In 2004, NASA's Genesis was returning to Earth after collecting solar wind particles when Its drogue parachute did not deploy, and it crashed in Utah. Most of the samples were damaged but some were successfully recovered.
Two years later, another sample return mission, Stardust, landed successfully after collecting samples from Comet Wild 2 and interstellar dust.
veryGood! (5774)
Related
- NASA still hasn't decided the best way to get the Starliner crew home: 'We've got time'
- With a New Speaker of the House, Billions in Climate and Energy Funding—Mostly to Red States—Hang in the Balance
- How Felicity Huffman Is Rebuilding Her Life After the College Admissions Scandal
- Bachelor Nation Status Check: Who's Still Continuing Their Journey After Bachelor in Paradise
- Streamer stayed awake for 12 days straight to break a world record that doesn't exist
- Major changes to US immigration policy are under discussion. What are they and what could they mean?
- Germany’s Scholz confident of resolving budget crisis, says no dismantling of the welfare state
- A pilot is killed in a small plane crash near Eloy Municipal Airport; he was the only person aboard
- Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee resigns after federal bribery charge
- Over 300 Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar arrive in Indonesia’s Aceh region after weeks at sea
Ranking
- Australian Olympic Committee hits out at criticism of controversial breaker Rachael Gunn
- Cleanup, power restoration continues in Tennessee after officials say six died in severe storms
- H&M's Sale Has On-Trend Winter Finds & They're All up to 60% Off
- Judge approves settlement barring U.S. border officials from reviving family separation policy for 8 years
- White House says deals struck to cut prices of popular Medicare drugs that cost $50 billion yearly
- The NRA has a surprising defender in its free speech case before the Supreme Court: the ACLU
- Organizers of COP28 want an inclusive summit. But just how diverse is the negotiating table?
- Anthony Davis leads Lakers to NBA In-Season Tournament title, 123-109 over Pacers
Recommendation
-
Drugs to treat diabetes, heart disease and blood cancers among those affected by price negotiations
-
Army vs. Navy best moments, highlights: Black Knights defeat Midshipmen in wild finish
-
Is the max Social Security benefit a fantasy for most Americans in 2023?
-
Bo Nix's path to Heisman finalist: from tough times at Auburn to Oregon stardom
-
Rob Schneider Responds to Daughter Elle King Calling Out His Parenting
-
Technology built the cashless society. Advances are helping the unhoused so they’re not left behind
-
Army holds on with goal-line stand in final seconds, beats Navy 17-11
-
H&M's Sale Has On-Trend Winter Finds & They're All up to 60% Off