Houston Chronicle by Andrea Leinfelder Aug. 12, 2020
A NASA spacecraft has completed its final test and is preparing to touch the surface of asteroid Bennu to return samples to Earth.
On Tuesday, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft got within 131 feet of the asteroid to practice its navigation and verify that its imaging, navigation and ranging systems are working.
The spacecraft moved very slowly, 0.2 mph, during the four-hour test. And because it took 16 minutes one way for signals to travel between Earth and the spacecraft, the OSIRIS-REx team sent commands to the spacecraft prior to its test. The spacecraft operated autonomously after the "Go" command was given.
Preliminary data show that the test went as planned, and the next step will be on Oct. 20 when the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will touch Bennu’s surface for five seconds, fire a charge of pressurized nitrogen to disturb the surface and collect a sample. The spacecraft is scheduled to return the sample to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023.
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