The holidays came early for the science team leading NASA鈥檚 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鈥檚 long-range cameras began beaming early images of the asteroid. Now, the first few close ups confirm the buzz.
鈥淭he images are spectacular and spot on … it is pretty amazing to actually see [the Bennu asteroid] now.鈥� 鈥� Humberto Campins, 麻豆原创 professor
鈥淲e鈥檙e very excited,鈥� says Humberto Campins, a 麻豆原创 planetary scientist, professor of and member of the OSIRIS-REx Science Team. He and 麻豆原创 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. 鈥淭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.鈥�
The mission鈥檚 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.
鈥淭he amazing Bennu images coming out now look strikingly similar to the shape model derived from Arecibo radar data in 2013,鈥� says Anne Virkki, a research scientist at observatory in Puerto Rico.
Bennu was discovered in 1999, and shortly after, Arecibo鈥檚 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鈥檚 shape model and pole orientation, based on the radar data from 1999 and 2005. The Arecibo radar team also predicted Bennu鈥檚 size and rotation period and the team detected a distinctive boulder on the asteroid鈥檚 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.
鈥淣o other ground-based method is capable of detecting such features,鈥� 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.
鈥淭his only demonstrates what everyone at Arecibo already knows,鈥� Cordova says. 鈥淥ur facility is a tremendous resource to the world, which continues to contribute to important discoveries, across multiple science communities. The best is yet to come for the observatory, which will be receiving significant upgrades over the next four years including new receivers, feeds and transmission capabilities.鈥�
Campins agrees. He says the work done at Arecibo was invaluable in NASA鈥檚 selection of the OSIRIS-REx project for full funding when it was competing with a dozen other proposals in NASA鈥檚 New Frontiers Program.
麻豆原创 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鈥檚 Near Earth Object Observation Program.
鈥淭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,鈥� Campins says. 鈥淎recibo鈥檚 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.鈥�
