NASA Invites Media to Briefing on OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Collection

animation of OSIRIS-REx TAGSAM sample maneuver at Bennu 20 Oct 2020

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Captured on Oct. 20, during the OSIRIS-REx missions Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection event, this series of images shows the SamCam imagers field of view as the NASA spacecraft approaches and touches down on asteroid Bennus surface. The sampling event brought the spacecraft all the way down to sample site Nightingale, and the team on Earth received confirmation of successful touchdown at 6:08 pm EDT. Preliminary data show the sampling head touched Bennus surface for approximately 6 seconds, after which the spacecraft performed a back-away burn.

Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

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NASA will host a media teleconference at 5:00 p.m. EDT today, Friday, Oct. 23, to provide an update on the status of the agencys Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft and the sample it collected from asteroid Bennu.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made a dramatic six-second touch of Bennu on Oct. 20, and video released the next day indicated a significant amount of particles were agitated on Bennus surface and likely collected in the spacecrafts Touch-And-Go Sample Arm Mechanism collector head.

During the teleconference, OSIRIS-REx team members will discuss what they know about the sample that has been collected and what the next steps are for the mission to return the sample to Earth.

The teleconference audio and visuals will stream live at:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

Briefing participants include:

Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASAs Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington
Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator, University of Arizona, Tucson

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