It鈥檚 a flurry of activity in 麻豆原创 physics professor Humberto Campins鈥� office. He鈥檚 finishing grant applications, working on a journal article, prepping notes for a national science meeting, crafting a presentation for an event at the Orlando Science Center and getting his class assignments lined up for the semester. Oh yeah, and then there鈥檚 the launch of that NASA mission tonight.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very exciting, but a very busy time,鈥� Campins said. 鈥淭his is a historic mission and we are eager to get started.鈥�
Campins, an international expert on asteroids, and associate professor Yan Fernandez are gearing up for the launch of the聽Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer聽(OSIRIS-REx) mission scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from Cape Canaveral. 麻豆原创 also hosted the OSIRIS-REx Science Team meeting at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, which concluded last night.
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It鈥檚 NASA first mission to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth. A successful mission will provide scientists enough material from the asteroid鈥檚 surface to better understand how planets formed and how life began in the solar system. Data will also help scientists understand the nature of asteroids that could potentially hit Earth.
The 4,650-pound fully fueled spacecraft will launch aboard an Atlas V 411 rocket and is expected to reach the asteroid Bennu in 2018.
That鈥檚 when Campins and Fernandez will really see their workload increase. They will assist the team by analyzing data and images taken of Bennu while OSIRIS-REx orbits the asteroid. There will likely be a lot of late nights and all-nighters, Fernandez said.
They will work alongside a team of experts to review the data. Then they will make a recommendation with the most 鈥減romising sample sites鈥� for OSIRIS-REx to collect between 2 and 70 ounces of surface material with its robotic arm. It will then store the sample in a detachable capsule that is expected to return to Earth in 2023.
“The launch of OSIRIS-REx is the beginning of a seven-year journey to return pristine samples from asteroid Bennu,” said OSIRIS-REx principal investigator Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson. “The team has built an amazing spacecraft, and we are well-equipped to investigate Bennu and return with our scientific treasure.”
Goddard Space Flight Center will provide overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Lockheed Martin Space Systems built the spacecraft. A host of national experts from several universities rounds out the team.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a dream come true,鈥� Campins said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been fascinated by asteroids and to be able to contribute to this mission is a milestone in the search for answers I鈥檝e been looking for my entire career. I鈥檓 like a kid at just before Christmas. I just can鈥檛 wait鈥�
Campins has spent his entire career chasing asteroids, comets and other celestial bodies. He conducts research at observatories around the world, including Arizona, Hawaii, Chile, France, Spain and the Vatican. In 2010 he headed the team that discovered water ice and organic molecules on the asteroid 24 Themis and later on 65 Cybele. It鈥檚 that expertise that has led him to OSIRIS-REx.
He earned degrees from the University of Kansas and the University of Arizona. As a graduate student he was named a representative to the Committee for Peaceful Uses of Outer Space of the General Assembly of the United Nations. His research has been funded by multiple agencies the past 10 years including NASA, the National Science Foundation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Florida Space Grant Consortium.