OSIRIS-REx is now so far away from Earth, 18.5 light minutes to be precise, that each signal takes 18.5 minutes to reach Earth or the spacecraft. Therefore, 37 minutes must be counted between each step for mutual communication.
During the procedure, the mission team will constantly monitor the flexible ‘wrist’ of the TAGSAM arm to ensure that the collector head is properly placed in the SRC capsule. The team has also added a new set of images to the procedure to be taken to keep an eye on the material escaping the collector head and to make sure the particles do not confuse storage.
The whole procedure is thought to take several days.
OSIRIS-REx was launched to Bennu on September 8, 2016 and is due to return to Earth in March of next year. The spacecraft is expected to land in the Utah desert in the United States in September 2023, carrying the largest cargo of alien material since the Apollo missions to the moon, the scientists hope.
They also hope that the material from the asteroid Bennu will help further uncover the origins of our solar system and clarify the origins of life.
Measurements with telescopes had previously shown that Bennu is a carbon-rich asteroid. This is important because such primitive asteroids could contain volatiles and organic molecules that could provide clues to the origin of life on Earth and the possibility that life might exist elsewhere.
Sources: NASA press releases, telex AFP.
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