Scientists finetune asteroid bennu4/20/2023 ![]() The spacecraft will perform a second approach maneuver on Mar. This first maneuver acted as a braking burn and put the spacecraft on a trajectory to rendezvous with the asteroid one last time on Apr. 14, which are designed to return the spacecraft to Bennu. OSIRIS-REx executed the first of five separate navigation maneuvers on Jan. Since October’s sample collection event, the spacecraft had been slowly drifting away and ended up approximately 2,200 km from Bennu. Currently, the spacecraft is approximately 936 km from asteroid Bennu and approaching the at about 47 cm/s. OSIRIS-REx has entered the Post-TAG Observation (PTO) phase. It is notable that this flyby trajectory was designed such that the failure of any maneuver would leave the spacecraft on a safe path clear of Bennu. ![]() ![]() 12, the spacecraft was about 155 km from Bennu and approaching the asteroid at about 24.6 cm/s. The science team will use these observations to assess the amount and nature of surface disruption from the sample collection event. During this flyby, the OSIRIS-REx instrument suite will make observations of Bennu spanning the entire global surface. Subsequently, OSIRIS-REx will execute two final maneuvers, which will place the spacecraft on the precise trajectory for the final flyby at about 12:30pm Local Solar Time. 6, the spacecraft successfully executed the second propulsive maneuver of 34 cm/s to adjust course as OSIRIS-REx approaches the asteroid. OSIRIS-REx continues operating in the Post-TAG Observation phase, as the spacecraft journeys back to Bennu for the Apr. 4, and will place the spacecraft on the precise trajectory for the final flyby. This fifth maneuver is scheduled for Apr. 27, which adjusted the spacecraft’s trajectory to target the location of the fifth and final maneuver. OSIRIS-REx executed a fourth navigation maneuver on Mar. 20, the spacecraft performed a third navigation maneuver to continue its journey back to Bennu for the final flyover on Apr. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft continues to slowly approach asteroid Bennu – traveling approximately 6 cm/s – and is currently about 30 km from the asteroid. The next possible maneuver adjustment could occur in 2022. But, the May 10 departure maneuver was calculated and executed so precisely, the mission team decided not to do a clean-up maneuver last week. Mission engineers had planned to do a small thruster firing last week to ensure the spacecraft stays on the correct path back to Earth. The spacecraft is on track to deliver an asteroid sample to Earth on September 24, 2023. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is 328,000 miles, or 528,000 kilometers, away from the asteroid Bennu, having fired its engines on May 10 to initiate a return trip to Earth.
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