Die OSIRIS-REx-Mission der NASA bringt Probe vom Asteroiden Bennu zur Erde

NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx, launched seven years ago in 2016 to near-Die Erde asteroid Bennu has delivered the asteroid sample that it collected in 2020 to Die Erde auf 24^th September 2023. After releasing the asteroid sample into Der Erde atmosphere, the spacecraft embarked on its extended travel to asteroid Apophis as OSIRIS-APRX mission. The asteroid Bennu is an ancient carbonaceous asteroid that has rocks and dusts from the birth of the solar system. Study of the returned sample shall throw light on how Planeten were formed and how life began on Die Erde . More importantly, there is small risk of Bennu impacting with Die Erde late next century between the years 2175 and 2199. Results from OSIRIS-REx mission will help refine the predicted path of the asteroid Bennu as well as of other potentially hazardous asteroids to plan and execute mitigation.

NASADie Asteroidenprobenrückführungsmission OSIRIS-REx hat erfolgreich eine etwa 250 Gramm schwere Probe vom Asteroiden Bennu gebracht. Die vom Asteroiden im Jahr 2020 gesammelte Gesteins- und Staubkapsel landete am Sonntag, den 24., am Standort Utah in der Nähe von Salt Lake City in den USA^th September 2023.

OSIRIS-REx war NASAist die erste Mission zur Rückführung von Asteroidenproben.

NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx (acronym for “Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer”) was launched to the near-Die Erde asteroid Bennu on 8^th September 2016. Es sammelte am 20. September eine Gesteins- und Staubprobe von der Oberfläche des Asteroiden^th October 2020 and started its return journey to Die Erde auf 10^th Mai 2021. Der Rückweg dauerte zweieinhalb Jahre, bis sich die Probenrückgabekapsel von der Raumsonde trennte und in die Erde eindrang Atmosphäre. With this, the spacecraft completed a seven-year journey and the mission OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid, was completed. But the journey of spacecraft continues towards asteroid Apophis as OSIRIS-APEX mission after releasing sample return capsule into Der Erde Atmosphäre.

Zeitleiste der OSIRIS-REx-Mission der NASA

Datum / Jahr	Meilensteine
September 8, 2016	Raumschiff gestartet
Dezember 3, 2018	am Asteroiden Bennu angekommen
2019 – 2020	Suchen Sie auf Bennu nach einer sicheren Probenentnahmestelle
Oktober 20, 2020	Probe gesammelt
10. Mai 2021	Beginn der Rückreise zur Erde
24	Kapsel mit Gesteins- und Staubproben, die vom Asteroiden Bennu gesammelt wurden, der in die Erdatmosphäre freigesetzt wurde und sicher auf der Erde landete. OSIRIS-REX-Mission damit abgeschlossen.
24	Die Reise der Raumsonde geht weiter zu einem weiteren erdnahen Asteroiden, Apophis, und die Mission wird in OSIRIS-APEX umbenannt

Discovered in September 1999 and named after an ancient Egyptian deity, asteroid Bennu is a near-Earth Orbit, ancient asteroid thought to have formed over 4.5 billion years ago in the early phase of solar system’s history. It is a B-type, carbonaceous asteroid that has rocks and dust from the birth of the solar system. It may also have material containing molecules that were present when life first formed on Earth. Asteroids rich in organische Stoffe are thought to have played a role in catalysing life on Earth. The study of the sample brought from the asteroid Bennu is expected to throw light on how Planeten were formed and how life began.

As a near-Earth object (NEO), Bennu is a potentially hazardous asteroid as it may impact Earth late in next century between the years 2175 and 2199 though the probability of such an event is low. The exact path of rotating asteroids (such as Bennu) through the solar system is little unpredictable due to Yarkovsky effect (heating up of surfaces during the day and cooling down at night gives of radiation that may act like a mini thruster to drift the asteroid away over time). The measurement of the Yarkovsky Effect by OSIRIS-REx will help refine the predicted Orbit of the asteroid Bennu as well as of other potentially hazardous asteroids and help in Planetenverteidigung.

Under the renamed mission OSIRIS-APEx, the spacecraft is now travelling towards another near-Earth asteroid Apophis (about 1,000 feet wide) which will approach Earth within the range of about 20,000 miles in 2029. At that time, the spacecraft will enter the Orbit of Apophis to investigate how “close approach to Earth” affected its Orbit, spin rate, and surface. This knowledge will help in dealing with “close approach of asteroid Bennu” in late next century.

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Quellen:

Die erste Asteroidenprobe der NASA ist gelandet und jetzt sicher im Reinraum. Veröffentlicht am 24. September 2023. Verfügbar unter https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-first-asteroid-sample-has-landed-now-secure-in-clean-room . Zugriff am 25. September 2023.