Scientists finetune odds asteroid bennu earth

Image: University of Arizona/Heather Roper.

This out-of-this-world search effort is also a welcome opportunity to rehearse for surveying operations at the missionвЂ™s target asteroid where OSIRIS-REx will be on the lookout for possible natural satellites around the large rocky body. Over 12 days from February 9 through 20, OSIRIS-REx will employ its MapCam imager to methodically scan the area where the Trojans must be located. OSIRIS-REx вЂ“ no longer bound to Earth and in an independent orbit around the sun вЂ“ will have a unique chance to spot leading Trojans in a narrow window of opportunity in mid-February that places the outbound spacecraft in the ideal position to spot Trojans. Scientists predict there to be many more Trojans leading and trailing Earth, but their detection is extremely difficult from a vantage point near Earth as they appear very close to the sun. To date, there is only one known Earth Trojan вЂ“ 2010 TK7, discovered in 2010 by NASAвЂ™s NEOWISE project. Six planets in the solar system are known to have Trojans, Jupiter leads the pack with over 6,000 known Trojan Asteroids.ДЇebruary 2017 Observation Geometry вЂ“ Image: University of Arizona/Heather Roper. The first three Lagrange points are on a line connecting the two principal bodies and are considered semi-stable while the 4th & 5th points are stable вЂ“ allowing objects to remain at these points indefinitely if there are no other forces acting on them. Trojans are constant companions to planets in the solar system, traveling around the sun 60 degrees in front and behind the planet in what is known as the 4th and 5th Lagrangian Points вЂ“ stable points in space where the gravitational pull of the sun and the planet provide precisely the centripetal force required to orbit with them. 18), OSIRIS-REx completed a successful Trajectory Correction Maneuver with its smaller thrusters, cleaning up after last monthвЂ™s Deep Space Maneuver to fine-tune the spacecraftвЂ™s trajectory toward the Earth flyby.Д«ut before OSIRIS-REx is inbound to Earth, an interesting addition was made to its mission вЂ“ searching for Trojan asteroids inhabiting EarthвЂ™s orbit around the sun.

OSIRIS-REx Position on JanuвЂ“ Credit: OSIRIS-REx ProjectДЄt 18:06 UTC on Wednesday (Jan.

The mission plans to switch primary communications over to the High-Gain Antenna later in January. While still in close proximity to Earth after its September 8 liftoff from Cape Canaveral, OSIRIS-REx used its Low and Medium-Gain Antennas вЂ“ the High-Gain Antenna is required at greater distances to achieve a meaningful data rate for the exchange of science/telemetry data and telecommands. вЂњDSM-1 was our first major trajectory change and first use of the main engines, so itвЂ™s good to have that under our belts and be on a safe trajectory to Bennu,вЂќ said Arlin Bartels OSIRIS-REx deputy project maneuver at the Goddard Spaceflight Center.ДЄfter completion of the Deep Space Maneuver, OSIRIS-REx powered up its High Gain Antenna for the first time for a checkout. After completion of the maneuver, OSIRIS-REx sent back telemetry data recorded during the firing, indicating all went well with the critical engine burn, but teams had to track the spacecraftвЂ™s trajectory for several days to fully confirm the maneuver had placed the vehicle onto the correct path.

Scientists finetune odds asteroid bennu earth