The OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer, or OVIRS, will look at the asteroid's spectral signature to detect organics and other minerals. (Photo : NASA)
Next month, NASA will launch a space probe that will land on an asteroid that is heading to Earth.
This new mission known as OSIRIS-REx or Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, will mark the first spaceflight mission that will collect asteroid samples then bring them back to Earth. The space probe is targeting an asteroid known as Bennu.
According to chief astronomer and planetarium director Derrick Pitts from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, scientists hope to not only investigate an alien asteroid but also to find new clues about the early evolution of the solar system, as asteroids are also considered as ancient remnants of the solar system when planets were only beginning to form billions of years ago.
On September 8, the OSIRIS-REx mission will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida where it will complete an orbit around the sun for its first year in space. Using the Earth's gravitational forces as a slingshot, the probe will use this to propel itself towards Bennu. Two months before its rendezvous at the asteroid, the probe will survey and map out potential spots to obtain samples before landing on the surface briefly of the asteroid according to NASA.
Briefly landing on the surface means a mere five seconds, as the OSIRIS-REx probe will not return to Earth until 2023, says Pitts. The mission may seem rather hasty, but this round trip to collect crucial samples of space dust is pivotal to gain a better understanding about the evolutionary of our planet and how the solar system formed.
Bennu might be near the direction of Earth but Pitts explains that there is one chance in 2,700 of this asteroid crashing into our planet by the 22nd century, which can also make a significant impact.
