This is an artist's concept of NASA's OSIRIS-REx
spacecraft preparing to take a sample from asteroid Bennu.
Image Credit:
NASA/Goddard
NASA's team that will conduct the first U.S. mission to collect samples from
an asteroid has been given the go-ahead to begin building the spacecraft, flight
instruments and ground system, and launch support facilities.
This determination was made Wednesday after a successful Mission Critical
Design Review (CDR) for NASA’s Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource
Identification Security Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx). The CDR was held at
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Littleton, Colo., April 1-9. An
independent review board, comprised of experts from NASA and several external
organizations, met to review the system design.
"This is the final step for a NASA mission to go from paper to product,” said
Gordon Johnston, OSIRIS-REx program executive at NASA Headquarters, Washington,
DC. “This confirms that the final design is ready to start the build-up towards
launch.”
OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2016, rendezvous with the
asteroid Bennu in 2018 and return a sample of it to Earth in 2023. The
spacecraft carries five instruments that will remotely evaluate the surface of
Bennu. After more than a year of asteroid reconnaissance, the spacecraft will
collect samples of at least 2 ounces (60 grams) and return them to Earth for
scientists to study.
"Successfully passing mission CDR is a major accomplishment, but the hard
part is still in front of us -- building, integrating and testing the flight
system in support of a tight planetary launch window," said Mike Donnelly,
OSIRIS-REx project manager at NASA’s Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx). in Greenbelt,
Md.
Key mission objectives focus on finding answers to basic questions about the
composition of the very early solar system and the source of organic materials
and water that made life possible on Earth. The mission will also aid NASA’s
asteroid initiative and support the agency's efforts to understand the
population of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects and characterize those
suitable for future asteroid exploration missions. The initiative brings
together the best of NASA's science, technology and human exploration efforts to
achieve President Obama's goal of sending humans to an asteroid by 2025.
"The OSIRIS-REx team has consistently demonstrated its ability to present a
comprehensive mission design that meets all requirements within the resources
provided by NASA," said Dante Lauretta, principal investigator from the
University of Arizona, Tucson. "Mission CDR was no exception. This is a great
team. I know we will build a flight and ground system that is up to the
challenges of this ambitious mission."
In January, NASA invited people around the world to submit their names to be
etched on a microchip aboard the spacecraft. After submitting their name,
participants are able to download and print a certificate documenting their
participation in the OSIRIS-REx mission. The campaign is open until September
30, 2014.
Goddard Space Flight Center will provide overall mission management, systems
engineering, and safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Lockheed Martin
Space Systems in Denver will build the spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third
mission in the agency's New Frontiers Program. NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages New Frontiers for the agency's Science
Mission Directorate in Washington. The University of Arizona leads OSIRIS-REx
and provides the camera system and science processing and operations center.
For more information about the OSIRIS-REx mission, visit:
and
To participate in "Messages to Bennu," go to:
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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