Current:Home > StocksWhat to know about NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
What to know about NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission
View Date:2024-12-24 08:01:38
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! (2694)
Related
- Lions QB Jared Goff, despite 5 interceptions, dared to become cold-blooded
- Peruvian man found with centuries-old mummy in his cooler bag. He called the corpse Juanita, my spiritual girlfriend.
- How companies can build trust with the LGBTQ+ community — during Pride and beyond
- Vanity Fair's Radhika Jones talks Rupert Murdoch and Little House on the Prairie
- Kennesaw State football coach Brian Bohannon steps down after 10 seasons amid first year in FBS
- John Goodman tells us the dark secret behind all his lovable characters
- Want Johnny Carson's desk? A trove of TV memorabilia is up for auction
- Tom Holland Reacts to Zendaya's Euphoric Red Carpet Return at NAACP Image Awards
- Why Suits' Gabriel Macht Needed Time Away From Harvey Specter After Finale
- Bella Hadid Gets Real About Her Morning Anxiety
Ranking
- Can't afford a home? Why becoming a landlord might be the best way to 'house hack.'
- Ida B. Wells Society internships mired by funding issues, says Nikole Hannah-Jones
- In Defense of Boring Bachelor Zach Shallcross
- These Cast Reunions at the 2023 SAG Awards Will Have You in Your Feels
- Kentucky officer reprimanded for firing non-lethal rounds in 2020 protests under investigation again
- Five great moments from the 'Ted Lasso' finale
- Lady Gaga Sued by Woman Charged in Dog Theft Who Is Demanding $500,000 Reward
- 'Platonic' is more full-circle friendship than love triangle, and it's better that way
Recommendation
-
Hurricane-stricken Tampa Bay Rays to play 2025 season at Yankees’ spring training field in Tampa
-
Little Richard Documentary celebrates the talent — and mystery — of a legend
-
'Of course we should be here': 'Flower Moon' receives a 9-minute ovation at Cannes
-
'Vanderpump Rules,' 'Scandoval' and a fight that never ends
-
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will spend part of week in DC as he tries to Trump-proof state policies
-
These Cast Reunions at the 2023 SAG Awards Will Have You in Your Feels
-
Video shows moment of deadly Greece train crash as a station master reportedly admits responsibility
-
Celebrities and the White House pay tribute to Tina Turner