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Asteroid chase may yield clues to life on Earth and elsewhere
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THE first NASA explorer of its kind has taken off on a seven-year quest, chasing after an unexplored asteroid to gather a few handfuls of gravel to return to Earth.
These bite-size bits of ancient space rock from asteroid Bennu could hold clues to the origin of life, not just on our planet but potentially elsewhere in the solar system.
Thousands gathered on Thursday to witness the evening launch of Osiris-Rex, a robotic hunter that looks something like a bird with its solar wings. The spacecraft took flight atop an Atlas V rocket, which soared into space a little before sunset from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Victory was declared an hour later. Launch controllers shook hands and embraced as the spacecraft shot out of Earth’s orbit, bound for Bennu.
“Tonight is a night for celebration. We are on our way to an asteroid,” said NASA’s chief scientist, Ellen Stofan. After all, “we’ve just done something amazing.”
“We got everything just exactly perfect,” added Osiris-Rex chief scientist Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona. “It was an amazing evening for me and for this team.”
It will take two years for Osiris-Rex to reach Bennu, which is circling the sun in a slightly wider orbit than Earth’s. The spacecraft will go into orbit around the asteroid, seeking out the best spot before going in for a quick bite.
Round trip, the SUV-sized spacecraft will travel more than 6.4 billion kilometers by mission’s end in 2023.
NASA has gone after comet dust and solar wind particles before, but never anything from an asteroid.
The roundish rock — an estimated 500 meters across and taller than the Empire State Building — is believed to harbor carbon dating back 4.5 billion years, to the beginning of our solar system.
“We will make discoveries on this mission that we have not anticipated. It’s exciting,” said Bill Nye, chief executive officer of the Planetary Society.
The launch came 50 years to the day that the first “Star Trek” episode aired on TV. NASA launch commentator Mike Curie referenced the anniversary, urging the spacecraft “to boldly go” to Bennu and back. This is yet another example of NASA “turning science fiction into science fact,” Stofan noted.
Osiris-Rex may lead to asteroid-mining missions, according to scientists and could help protect the planet from menacing space rocks.
Japan has already visited an asteroid and returned some specks and is chasing another space rock for even more samples.
Osiris-Rex’s bounty, however, should surpass that. Lauretta, and his team want at least 60 grams of dust and gravel when the big day comes in 2020. Ground tests have yielded eight times that in a single scoop, so hopes are high for four to five handfuls.
Osiris-Rex will hover like a hummingbird over Bennu, according to Lauretta, as the spacecraft’s 3-meter mechanical arm touches down like a pogo stick on the surface for three to five seconds. Thrusters will shoot out nitrogen gas to stir up the surface, and the loose particles will be sucked up into the device.
Touch and go
The team opted for this touch-and-go procedure instead of landing to increase the chances of success. Despite extensive observations of Bennu from ground and space telescopes, no one knows exactly what to expect there, and it could be difficult if not impossible to anchor a spacecraft on the surface, Lauretta said.
Osiris-Rex’s sample container will parachute down with the pristine asteroid treasure in Utah. The mother spacecraft, meanwhile, will continue its orbit of the sun.
“Space exploration brings out the best in us,” Nye said shortly before Osiris-Rex began its journey. “It is an extraordinary use of our intellect and treasure to elevate humankind, to help us know our place in the cosmos.”
It may also one day save the home planet.
Bennu swings by Earth every six years, and 150 years from now, could hit us.
Osiris-Rex will help scientists better understand the ever-changing paths of asteroids, and that could prove its biggest payoff.
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