NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission: Unlocking the Origins of the Solar System from Asteroid Bennu

💧 Decoding the Cosmos: The OSIRIS-REx Milestone

For UPSC aspirants tracking advancements in Science and Technology, NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) represents a watershed moment in planetary exploration. Launched as the first United States mission mandated to extract and return pristine material from an asteroid, it successfully completed its primary objective by delivering samples from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. These untouched celestial fragments serve as a cosmic time capsule, offering researchers unprecedented insights into the dawn of our solar system and the elemental ingredients that may have catalyzed life on Earth.

Sept 24, 2023 Capsule Landed

70.3 Grams Samples Extracted

Asteroid Apophis Next Destination

💧 Key Scientific Discoveries & Future Trajectory

The meticulous curation and analysis of the Bennu samples have already begun rewriting our understanding of early astrobiological conditions.

🔬 Groundbreaking Compositional Findings

Early analysis of the extraterrestrial regolith has revealed conditions ideal for fostering life. Scientists have identified essential biological sugars, a previously unrecorded gum-like substance in astromaterials, and an extraordinarily high concentration of stardust forged by ancient supernova explosions.

📦 Curation and Mass Milestones

The retrieval process exceeded NASA's baseline expectations. Despite initial challenges in accessing the remainder of the sample due to stubborn hardware fasteners, the curation team at the Johnson Space Center successfully secured 70.3 grams (2.48 ounces) of asteroid dust and rocks, well above the 60-gram goal.

🔄 Transition to OSIRIS-APEX

Following the drop-off of the Bennu capsule over Earth's atmosphere, the spacecraft's journey continues.

The probe has been officially rechristened as OSIRIS-APEX.
Its new objective is to intercept and study Asteroid Apophis.
The mission aims to observe physical alterations to Apophis during its extraordinarily close flyby of Earth scheduled for 2029.

📚 Prelims Quiz Corner

1. With reference to NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, consider the following statements:

It is the first U.S. mission to successfully return a sample from a comet to Earth.

The initial analysis of the returned samples indicated the presence of biological sugars and supernova dust.

The spacecraft has been decommissioned after dropping the sample capsule in the Utah desert.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?