Scientists say last month’s NASA’s Osiris-Rex spaceflight on a planetary ship opened up a new understanding of the intrusion of loose rocks that could cover the surfaces of many smaller planets. Is – material that is more solid than a playground ball pit. Bedrock
The depth of the ship’s outer layer is evident in the imagery captured by the OCIRIS-Rex spacecraft as it climbed more than 200 million miles (330 million kilometers) from Earth into the airless world on October 20.
The next day, NASA released images from a narrow-angle camera targeting the spacecraft’s 11-foot-long (3.4-meter) robotic arm. At the end of the arm, a dinner plate-sized sample-collecting device squeezed a bottle of nitrogen gas while the spacecraft landed on a small planet measuring one-third of a mile in diameter.
The discharge of nitrogen gas helped to force the planet’s samples into the storage chamber. Six seconds after the planet’s surface, OSIRIS-RX fired the thrusters to return from Bernou.
Scientists later found close-up images of the sample storage head, showing that it was filled with material sliding off the surface of the ship. Some planetary clusters were seen escaping the small storage chamber, prompting administrators to command the spacecraft to store the sample head inside their return capsule sooner than expected, minimizing sample damage. .
The return capsule of the OSISIS-REx spacecraft to the sampling device was sealed inside on 28 October.
Last weekend, authorities released another series of images taken during the spacecraft’s contact and departure. They were captured by OSIRIS-RX and wide-angle navigation cameras.
According to the OSIRIS-RX science team, the navigation camera – or newcam – images were captured in about three hours. Authorities say the Oasis-RX began an hour after a bit of rabbit departure drill to begin its landing, and ends two minutes after the spacecraft’s retreat, officials said.
Ovaris-RX points its arm at the injection-patterned ship, named the “Nightingale.”
“As the spacecraft approaches the site Nightingale, the shadow of the specimen’s arm is visible at the bottom of the frame. Shortly afterwards, the sampling heads hit the site nightingale (out of sight of the camera area in the upper right) and set fire to the nitrogen gas bottle, which collects a considerable amount of sampling site material. The OSIRIS-RX team wrote in a description of the newcam images.
“After several seconds, the spacecraft ignites at the rear and the shadow of the sample arm appears against the disturbed surface material. The team is investigating the cause of the extremely dark area in the upper and middle parts of the frame, ”the team wrote. “The upper region may be the edge of the depression created by the sample arm, a strong shadow through the object above the surface, or some combination of the two.
“Similarly, the dark area in the middle, which is first visible at the bottom left of the image, may be due to sadness caused by one of the astronauts’ thrusters, a shadow due to the higher matter, or a combination of both.”
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, relied on black-and-white navigation camera images to guide itself to the Bennu and secure touchdown zones. The navigation algorithm compares the camera’s images with a map pre-loaded into the spacecraft’s computer, which helps the OSIRIS-Rex determine its location according to the locating planet.
Once its specimens are safe in the return capsule, OSIRIS-REx will sail around the Todia Benu to begin its journey back to Earth next year. The spacecraft will release a return capsule on September 24, 2023 to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and land at the Utah Test and Training Range.
NASA’s 1 1 billion Origin, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer mission launched the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on September 8, 2016 from Cape Canaveral to September 8, 2016. The main goal of OSIRIS-Rex is to return planetary samples to Earth for detailed analysis by scientists, who hope to uncover clues about the origin of the solar system.
The mission requirement for Osiris-Rex was to collect at least 60 grams, or 2.1 ounces, of planetary material. Scientists had said before the launch and landing on October 20 that the spacecraft could collect a lot, and evidence suggests that it would likely take samples of planets weighing 2.2 pounds or more than 1 kilogram, the university’s mission said. According to Dante Loretta, chief investigator at Arizona.
Data from a brief touchdown on the planet revealed that the spacecraft’s robotic arm sank 19 inches (48 centimeters) into Benu’s soft surface.
While the mission’s scientific payment will wait until the planet’s samples return to Earth, Loretta said Thursday that scientists are already learning about Benu’s physical characteristics.
The spacecraft detected small particles flying from Bennu shortly after it landed on the planet in December 2018. They look like tiny flash material that leaks out of the head of TAGSAM.
“It looks like a sack that encloses with a drawstring,” said Loretta. “And they’re all fluttering in random motion. They’re coming from the head of the tagsam for the most part, but they’re colliding with each other. They are wandering and scary. We can solve most of them.
“So a good imaging calibration data is set up to better understand the particle reduction events and particle movements,” Loretta said. “Even though my sample breaks and my heart breaks, it was a great use of science.”
Contact with the planetary surface of Osiris-Rex on October 20 also provided a rich dataset, suggesting that the outer layer of straw soil and low-density rocks lack much coordination. The spacecraft’s robotic arm touched the ship when the OSIRIS-REx approached only 0.2 miles per hour, or 10 centimeters per second, a tenth of a normal walking speed.
“When the head of TagSM approached Regolith, it erupted like a liquid,” Loretta said. “And I wonder what would happen to an astronaut if he were to try to walk on the surface. She sinks to her knees or to the depths – depending on how loose the soil is – unless you hit a large rock or some kind of bedrock. “
He said the “ground truth” data collected by OSIRIS-RX would help scientists examine models of planetary sciences.
“It’s interesting that there was so much opposition to the spacecraft,” Loretta said. “It’s really like a child’s playground. You jump into it and you drown.
“Fortunately, we had thrusts back to them to reverse the speed, or maybe we just flew all over the ship,” Loretta joked.
Recent measurements of ship density from OSIRIS-REX will help scientists improve their risk assessment of Bennu’s impact on Earth. Scientists have calculated a 1-in-2,700 probability that Benu could invade Earth by the end of 2100.
A lot of storms can burn in the Earth’s atmosphere because of its plight.
“Thermal analysis indicates that a lot of the material on the surface of Benu – especially the large black glaciers that are a major part of the surface – has physical properties that cannot be avoided by passing through the atmosphere,” Loretta said. Said. . “They’ll break, and a lot of stuff will be lost.”
This means that the major specimens collected from Benu are unlike any meteorites or planetary fragments that have fallen to the ground and retain the surface.
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