NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft completed its final task for this mission when it released its sample capsule toward Earth less than an hour ago. About 20 minutes after doing so, the spacecraft fired its engines to divert past Earth toward its new mission to asteroid Apophis and was renamed OSIRIS-APEX
The spacecraft bids farewell to Earth and embarks on an extended mission with a new name: OSIRIS-APEX. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Labspacecraft completed its final task for this mission when it released its sample capsule toward Earth less than an hour ago. About 20 minutes after doing so, the spacecraft fired its engines to divert past Earth toward its new mission to asteroid Apophis and was renamed OSIRIS-APEX.
Roughly 1,000 feet wide, Apophis will come within 20,000 miles of Earth – less than one-tenth the distance between Earth and the Moon – in 2029. OSIRIS-APEX is scheduled to enter orbit of Apophis soon after the asteroid’s close approach of Earth to see how the encounter affected the asteroid’s orbit, spin rate, and surface.
This is an artist’s illustration of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft firing thrusters near the surface of the asteroid Apophis. Credit: Heather RoperThe OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, under NASA’s leadership, has completed its principal objective of collecting a sample from the asteroid Bennu. But, the journey doesn’t end here. In a bid to further explore the mysteries of our solar system, the spacecraft is now transitioning into its extended mission, OSIRIS-APEX.
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