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Early on Sunday morning, September 24, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft sample capsule will encounter Earth’s atmosphere for the first time since the mission’s launch in 2016. The ship carries
Early on Sunday morning, September 24, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft sample capsule will encounter Earth’s atmosphere for the first time since the mission’s launch in 2016. The ship carries approximately 8.8 ounces, or 250 grams, of rocky material collected from Bennu’s surface in 2020; This is NASA’s first asteroid sample and the largest ever collected in space.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft does not slow down as it drops its sample as it approaches Earth. Instead, once it reaches an altitude of 63,000 miles (or 102,000 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface (about one-third the distance between the Earth and the Moon), a message from operators on the ground will trigger the capsule’s release, and it is sent spiraling into the atmosphere below. Twenty minutes after landing, the spacecraft will fire its engines and fly past Earth to the asteroid Apophis, where it will continue exploring our solar system under a new name: OSIRIS-APEX (OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer).
Meanwhile, after a four-hour journey through space, the capsule passed through Earth’s atmosphere at 8:42 KST (10:42 ET), traveling at 27,650 mph (44,500 km/h). At this speed, the compression of Earth’s atmosphere would produce enough energy to envelop the capsule in a superheated fireball. The heat shield will help regulate the temperature inside the capsule, keeping the sample safe at a temperature similar to Bennu’s surface temperature.
Parachutes will bring the capsule to a safe landing speed. Approximately 2 minutes after the capsule enters the atmosphere, the brake parachute, designed for a steady transition to subsonic speed, will first open. Six minutes later – about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) above the desert – the main parachute will open, carrying the capsule 58 kilometers by 14 kilometers (36 miles by 8.5 miles). drill ground. During descent, the capsule will slow down to approximately 18 km/h.
Finally, just 13 minutes after reentry, the capsule will return to Earth for the first time in seven years and wait for a rescue team to approach.
This image shows events that occurred between the time the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft released its sample capsule and the moment it landed in the Utah desert. Credit: Lockheed Martin
About 20 minutes before the capsule lands, the rescue team, still above the Earth’s atmospheric curtain, will board four helicopters and head out into the desert. The infrared glow of the capsule’s heat signature will be tracked by thermal instruments until the capsule becomes visible to optical instruments, allowing the recovery team to trace the capsule’s path to Earth. The recovery team’s goal is to lift the capsule off the ground as quickly as possible to prevent contamination of the sample with the Earth’s environment.
Once the capsule is deployed and packaged for travel, the capsule will be flown by helicopter to a temporary clean room at the military site where it will undergo initial processing and be disassembled to prepare for travel by plane to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The sample will be documented, maintained, and distributed to scientists worldwide for analysis. Source
Source: Port Altele
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