Asteroid Sample Rubble Drops In

The OSIRIS-REx sample return mission from the asteroid Bennu will occur on Sunday Sept 24, 2023 at 7:00AM PDST in the Utah desert.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft performed a successful final course correction burn maneuver this last Sunday (Sept. 17, 2023).

The soon to be renamed NASA and JPL spacecraft is projected to release the sample return capsule about 63,000 miles from Earth and 4 hours and 13 minutes earlier.

OSIRIS-REx Sample Return: Path to Touchdown

Image Credit: NASA and Lockheed Martin Space

The reentry maneuver will decelerate the special return capsule from 27,000 mph to 10 mph in a mere 13 minutes to land somewhere on a 36-mile-long target area in the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range near Dugway, Utah.

Some of us find it to be super funny that the rock band Queen guitarist Brian May meticulously created 3D images of the Bennu rubble pile to help the ORISIS-Rex mission leaders identify safe landing spots for the mission collector to gather the gravel. Say What?

See my earlier Of Rocks and Spin At Bennu post and how this adventure relates to the techno-thriller…