NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is reaching its final stages after nearly three years since landing on an asteroid to collect a sample. The agency recently conducted a realistic rehearsal for the anticipated delivery of the rocky sample next month.
According to a blog post by NASA, the team behind the mission undertook a practice run of recovering a mock sample return capsule at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range. This location mirrors the site where the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will deposit the genuine asteroid sample.
Scheduled for September 24, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft plans to deliver the sample from asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft will release a capsule containing the precious cargo during its flyby, followed by a parachute-assisted landing in the Utah desert. The capsule must land within a specific ellipse measuring 37 miles by 9 miles (59 kilometers by 15 kilometers) around 13 minutes after release.
However, the challenges do not end there. Ground teams will need to quickly transport the sample to a clean room to prevent contamination from Earth’s material, which could compromise the mission’s objectives.
To prepare for the careful handling of the real asteroid sample, the mission’s team collected soil samples from the desert around 80 miles (128 kilometers) southwest of Salt Lake City. They placed these samples in a mock capsule similar to the one that will house the asteroid sample. The team then practiced packing the mock sample capsule for transportation via helicopter to a temporary clean room.
After packing, a helicopter airlifted the mock capsule to simulate the brief flight to the on-site temporary clean room at the military range. Recovery crews will also gather soil and air samples near the landing area of the capsule to identify any potential contaminants that may have come into contact with the asteroid sample.
This endeavor marks NASA’s maiden attempt at extracting a sample from an asteroid. The OSIRIS-REx mission launched on September 8, 2016, and rendezvoused with near-Earth asteroid Bennu in October 2020. Following the collection of an asteroid piece, OSIRIS-REx began its journey back to Earth. By analyzing the space rock up close, scientists hope to uncover clues about the origins of life on Earth and whether asteroids transported the building blocks of life to our planet.
After delivering the Bennu sample, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will embark on another exploration mission to asteroid Apophis in 2029.
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