NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft aces asteroid-sampling dress rehearsal

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which is getting ready to scoop a sample of asteroid Bennu, has successfully completed a partial dress rehearsal for its historic trip to the asteroid's surface.

OSIRIS-REx, which has been orbiting Bennu since 2018, is scheduled to attempt to swoop down to the surface to retrieve a sample of the asteroid four months from now and bring that sample back to Earth in 2023. On Tuesday (April 14), during what NASA calls a "checkpoint rehearsal," OSIRIS-REx got closer to Bennu's surface than ever before while practicing the sample collection process.

"This rehearsal let us verify flight system performance during the descent, particularly the autonomous update and execution of the Checkpoint burn," Rich Burns, OSIRIS-REx project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, said in a statement

Video: OSIRIS-REx gets really close to asteroid Bennu in rehearsal
Related: How NASA's asteroid sample return mission will work (infographic)

This artist's concept shows the trajectory and configuration of NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft during the checkpoint rehearsal on April 14, 2020. (Image credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

In its first practice run, OSIRIS-REx went through two of the four maneuvers it would perform during a real asteroid-sampling attempt: the orbit departure burn and the "checkpoint" burn. 

First, the spacecraft fired its engines to leave its 0.6-mile (1 kilometer) orbit around Bennu and descend closer to the space rock's surface. About four hours later, when OSIRIS-REx was at an approximate altitude of 410 feet (125 meters), it performed the checkpoint burn, which sent the spacecraft in a trajectory toward the location of its third maneuver, called the "matchpoint" burn. But instead of proceeding to that third step, the spacecraft backed away after a nine-minute descent. It reached an altitude of just 246 feet (75 m) — its closest approach yet — before heading back to orbit. 

Not only did OSIRIS-REx successfully execute these two test maneuvers, but it also practiced deploying its sampling arm, known as the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism, or TAGSAM. The spacecraft's cameras and sensors also took advantage of the close approach to collect data on the sampling site, which NASA recently dubbed Nightingale. NASA plans to conduct its first sampling attempt at the Nightingale site on Aug. 25, and the spacecraft is scheduled to begin its 2.5-year journey back to Earth in March 2021.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft captured this series of images of asteroid Bennu on April 14, 2020, during the first rehearsal of the mission's sample collection event. This animation shows the SamCam instrument's field of view as the spacecraft approached and moved away from the asteroid's surface over a 10-minute time period between the "checkpoint" burn and the "back-away" burn. The spacecraft's sampling arm — called the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) — is visible in the central part of the frame. (Image credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

It's worth noting that mission controllers were able to execute Tuesday's rehearsal without any hiccups despite the fact that most NASA employees — along with much of the rest of the world — have been ordered to work from home due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

"The mission team has maximized remote work over the last month of preparations for the Checkpoint rehearsal, as part of the COVID-19 response," NASA officials said in the statement. "On the day of rehearsal, a limited number of personnel monitored the spacecraft’s telemetry from Lockheed Martin Space’s facility, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Arizona, taking appropriate safety precautions, while the rest of the team performed their roles remotely."

"Executing this monumental milestone during this time of national crisis is a testament to the professionalism and focus of our team," Burns added. "It speaks volumes about their 'can-do' attitude and hopefully will serve as a bit of good news in these challenging times."

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos. 

  • Catastrophe
    Perhaps, as well as your favourite weird fact about space, you might have a most impressive achievement. I think this sort of operation would rank highly for many of us.
    Reply
  • lcarlson
    That's a good idea. Will suggest it to the team. :)
    Reply
  • Truthseeker007
    Why do they feel the need to combine the green-skinned god of the underworld, lord of the afterlife and judge of the dead Osiris with a dinosaur for the name? Are they trying to tell us something? Not to mention Osiris's sister and wife's name was no other then ISIS. Hmmm Reptile and Egyptian god related to a terrorist group. OK :D ;)You can't tell me the people that name these things don't know this history.
    Reply
  • Catastrophe
    Truthseeker007 said:
    Why do they feel the need to combine the green-skinned god of the underworld, lord of the afterlife and judge of the dead Osiris with a dinosaur for the name? Are they trying to tell us something? Not to mention Osiris's sister and wife's name was no other then ISIS. Hmmm Reptile and Egyptian god related to a terrorist group. OK :D ;)You can't tell me the people that name these things don't know this history.
    Come on TS7 Rex is just Latin for king:
    'Tyrannosaurus rex. A large, carnivorous (see carnivore) dinosaur that walked on two legs. Its name is from the Greek words meaning “tyrant” and “lizard” and the Latin word for “king”. '
    Stretching it a bit to confine it to dinosaurs ;)

    Cat
    Reply
  • Truthseeker007
    Catastrophe said:
    Come on TS7 Rex is just Latin for king:
    'Tyrannosaurus rex. A large, carnivorous (see carnivore) dinosaur that walked on two legs. Its name is from the Greek words meaning “tyrant” and “lizard” and the Latin word for “king”. '
    Stretching it a bit to confine it to dinosaurs ;)

    Cat
    Apparently you miss read what I typed. I was also talking an Egyptian god. Why don't you try rereading. How often do you see Rex used other then with Tyrannosaurus? What are you even getting at because what you said makes no sense.
    Reply
  • Catastrophe
    Yeah, well . . . . . . . . .
    As far as rex is concerned we meet the word on a daily basis.
    As a monarchy, our coins have around the edge:
    Monarch D G REX or REG F D as in
    George VI DEI GRATIA (by the will of God) Rex (King) Fidei defensor (Defender of the Faith).
    So rex or regina jingles around in our pockets. Might even be in your pocket if you have any very old coins.

    The name Rex means King from the Latin. Rex is a common boys' name. Rex Harrison, actor. Rex Reed, journalist and thousands more.

    Then you have the well known classic Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus (Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, pronounced ), or Oedipus the King, so Tyrannosaurus Rex means King king, and so it goes on . . . and on . . . and on . . .

    Good old Rex just keep popping up all over the place.
    Try thinking "rex" every time the coins jingle in your pocket.
    Good Luck and Best Wishes, and I hope you have many jingling coins to remember our Rex by.

    Cat ;)
    Reply
  • Truthseeker007
    Catastrophe said:
    Yeah, well . . . . . . . . .
    As far as rex is concerned we meet the word on a daily basis.
    As a monarchy, our coins have around the edge:
    Monarch D G REX or REG F D as in
    George VI DEI GRATIA (by the will of God) Rex (King) Fidei defensor (Defender of the Faith).
    So rex or regina jingles around in our pockets. Might even be in your pocket if you have any very old coins.

    The name Rex means King from the Latin. Rex is a common boys' name. Rex Harrison, actor. Rex Reed, journalist and thousands more.

    Then you have the well known classic Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus (Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, pronounced ), or Oedipus the King, so Tyrannosaurus Rex means King king, and so it goes on . . . and on . . . and on . . .

    Good old Rex just keep popping up all over the place.
    Try thinking "rex" every time the coins jingle in your pocket.
    Good Luck and Best Wishes, and I hope you have many jingling coins to remember our Rex by.

    Cat ;)
    How often do you see Rex and Osiris together? So even on your own words. King and an Egyptian god who's wife-girlfriend was ISIS. In reality on a daily basis you very rarely see the Rex unless it is with a Tyrannosaurus Rex. That is the reality of it. Do you think these NASA entities just pulled the names out there Arses for shites and giggles? In other words Lizard God King. Although even Jim Morrison at one point thought he was the Lizard King.
    Reply
  • Catastrophe
    Quod erat demonstrandum!
    Reply