NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Relaunched to Study Near-Earth Asteroid
By Alyssa Guzman | Published Dec. 26, 2023, 4:32 p.m. ET
A NASA spacecraft that recently returned from deep space has been relaunched for a mission to study the “God of Chaos” asteroid as it begins to near Earth’s orbit.
The agency’s spacecraft OSIRIS-REx — now named the OSIRIS-APEX — has been sent off to study the asteroid Apophis’ extremely close flyby of Earth in 2029, the likes of which “hasn’t happened since the dawn of recorded history,” NASA announced.
The spacecraft returned to Earth in September after spending seven years collecting samples from the space rock Bennu.
Apophis, also known as the “God of Chaos,” is expected to fly by Earth on April 13, 2029, from about only 20,000 miles away — closer than some manmade satellites and could even be visible in the Eastern Hemisphere.
The rock, which measures around 370 yards across, only comes this close to Earth every 7,500 years.
Earth’s gravity will affect the space rock as it nears orbit and OSIRIS-APEX will study the aftermath to see “how its surface changes,” according to Amy Simon, the mission’s project scientist.
The effects of Earth are expected to change the length of the asteroid’s day, which is currently around 30.6 hours per day. It could also cause the “God of Chaos” to experience landslides and quakes.
The spacecraft will meet the S-type asteroid on April 13, 2029, but will not land on its surface, rather “operate in proximity” to it for 18 months. Not only will it look at surface changes, but it will map the surface and analyze the rock’s chemical makeup, NASA said.
It will also go within 16 feet of the rock’s surface so it can fire its thrusters downward to see what it is stirred up, giving scientists a “peek at the material that lies below.”
Although the rock is still five years away from nearing Earth, scientists will be watching it as it nears its first of six close passes with the sun.