On December 3, 2018, 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. EST (Europe – 16:45 to 17:15 GMT +0), NASA will broadcast the arrival of the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer spacecraft (OSIRIS-REx) to the Bennu asteroid from the control center mission in Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton (Colorado, USA).
OSIRIS-REx is the first NASA mission to visit a near-Earth asteroid to study and collect soil samples from its surface for return to Earth. The launch of the spacecraft took place on September 8, 2016. During this time, the Bennu hunter has already covered more than two billion kilometers, and at the moment only 49 kilometers separate it from the asteroid. The signal travel time from OSIRIS-REx to the mission control center is about 7 minutes.
After approaching the asteroid, OSIRIS-REx will begin to study it with the help of five different tools, which will last until September 2019. The main purpose of the Bennu survey is to select a safe and scientifically interesting place for the subsequent capture of 60 to 2000 grams of soil samples, which the spacecraft will return to Earth by the end of 2023.
Arrival of OSIRIS-REx to the asteroid, NASA's live broadcast
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