The holidays came early for the science team leading NASA 麻豆精品 S檚 OSIRIS-REx mission to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid. Today they announced findings from the mission thus far, which arrived at asteroid Bennu Dec. 3
Scientists were already buzzing with excitement in November when the spacecraft 麻豆精品 S檚 long-range cameras began beaming early images of the asteroid. Now, the first few close ups confirm the buzz.
麻豆精品 S淭he images are spectacular and spot on … it is pretty amazing to actually see [the Bennu asteroid] now. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Humberto Campins, UCF professor
麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e very excited, 麻豆精品 S� says Humberto Campins, a University of Central Florida planetary scientist, professor of and member of the OSIRIS-REx Science Team. He and UCF Associate Professor Yan Fernandez are part of the team that will analyze close range images of the asteroid to recommend the best spot to collect the sample. 麻豆精品 S淭he images are spectacular and spot on, what we expected thanks to predictions made with the instrumentation at the Arecibo Observatory in the late 90s and early 2000s. We will spend a year and a half mapping Bennu and have to wait until mid 2020 we collect the sample, but it is pretty amazing to actually see it now. Christmas came early. 麻豆精品 S�
The mission 麻豆精品 S檚 lead scientists from the University of Arizona and other institutions presented initial results about the asteroid and the mission at the in Washington D.C. today. The AGU is the largest worldwide conference in Earth and space sciences and was expected to host more than 20,000 attendees this year, including representatives from the Arecibo Observatory.
麻豆精品 S淭he amazing Bennu images coming out now look strikingly similar to the shape model derived from Arecibo radar data in 2013, 麻豆精品 S� says Anne Virkki, a research scientist at observatory in Puerto Rico.
Bennu was discovered in 1999, and shortly after, Arecibo 麻豆精品 S檚 radar and the Goldstone planetary radar system were used to examine it. In 2005 Arecibo was used to complete a second set of radar observations. In 2013, a team of scientists led by Michael Nolan (who now works for the OSIRIS-REx mission as asteroid scientist and science team chief), published Bennu 麻豆精品 S檚 shape model and pole orientation, based on the radar data from 1999 and 2005. The Arecibo radar team also predicted Bennu 麻豆精品 S檚 size and rotation period and the team detected a distinctive boulder on the asteroid 麻豆精品 S檚 surface.
OSIRIS-REx launched from the Space Coast in 2016. The early images from OSIRIS-REx dramatically confirm that those predictions were accurate, scientists say.
麻豆精品 S淣o other ground-based method is capable of detecting such features, 麻豆精品 S� Virkki says from the facility.
Arecibo director Francisco Cordova, who attended the conference, was thrilled to see another example of the facility helping advance space science.
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Campins agrees. He says the work done at Arecibo was invaluable in NASA 麻豆精品 S檚 selection of the OSIRIS-REx project for full funding when it was competing with a dozen other proposals in NASA 麻豆精品 S檚 New Frontiers Program.
UCF operates the Arecibo Observatory in partnership with Sistema Ana G. Mendez Universidad Metropolitana and Yang Enterprises Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. The planetary radar program is supported by NASA 麻豆精品 S檚 Near Earth Object Observation Program.
麻豆精品 S淭he information obtained from radar characterization of this asteroid at Arecibo was critical in mission target selection and supported OSIRIS-REx science definition and mission planning, 麻豆精品 S� Campins says. 麻豆精品 S淎recibo 麻豆精品 S檚 radar data gave us two main advantages. It minimized the uncertainty in the shape of the asteroid and its orbit, which help reduce risk and increase the likelihood of a successful mission. 麻豆精品 S�
