A top-down view of the OSIRIS-REx Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism (TAGSAM) head with the cover eliminated, revealing the remainder of the asteroid sample inside. Erika Blumenfeld, innovative lead for the Advanced Imaging and Visualization of Astromaterials (AIVA) and Joe Aebersold, project management lead, recorded this picture utilizing manual high-resolution precision photography and a semi-automated focus stacking procedure. The result is an image that can be zoomed in on to reveal severe information of the sample. The staying sample product includes dust and rocks up to about.4 in (one cm) in size. Credit: NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & & Joseph AebersoldThe NASA OSIRIS-REx team received the distinguished Robert J. Collier Trophy for their historic objective of returning a sample from the asteroid Bennu. This achievement marks a significant milestone in area exploration, offering insights into the early planetary system and helping in the understanding of potentially hazardous asteroids.NASA and the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security– Regolith Explorer) mission team have actually won the National Aeronautic Associations (NAA) Robert J. Collier Trophy. NAA grants the prize annually for what it figures out is “the best accomplishment in aerospace and astronautics in America.” The OSIRIS-REx group will be celebrated at an award supper on June 13, 2024, in Washington, D.C.The NAA bestowed the Robert J. Collier Trophy on the group behind NASAs OSIRIS-REx, acknowledging the missions location in aerospace history by being the very first U.S. objective to collect a sample from an asteroid and provide it to Earth for study.NASAs OSIRIS-REx spacecraft leaving the surface of asteroid Bennu after collecting a sample. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab/SVSGroundbreaking Achievement in Space Exploration”Congratulations to the OSIRIS-REx group on this well-deserved honor,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “By successfully developing, building, and performing the very first U.S. mission to collect an asteroid sample, NASA proved when again that we do huge things. Things that influence the world. We anticipate the unbelievable science to come that will tell us more about our planetary system and aid secure humankind here in the world.”Established more than a century back, the award has actually marked significant achievements in the timeline of flight, consisting of Orville Wright in 1913 for developing the automated stabilizer; Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager for his sound-barrier-breaking 1947 flight of the X-1 rocket aircraft; the teams of NASAs Apollo 8, 11, and 15 for their missions to the Moon in the late 1960s and early 70s; and NASAs Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.OSIRIS-RExs sample return pill experiences maximum heating in Earths atmosphere. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/CI LabInternational Collaboration and Scientific EndeavorsThe OSIRIS-REx group includes NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado; University of Arizona, Tucson; and KinetX in Tempe, Arizona.The sample from the ancient asteroid Bennu that OSIRIS-REx delivered to Earth in September 2023 will provide researchers worldwide a look into the earliest days of our solar system, offering insights into planet development and the origin of organics vital for life on Earth. Data collected by the spacecraft combined with future analysis of the Bennu sample will likewise assist our understanding of asteroids that might affect Earth.The Collier Trophy contributes to the recent Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy gotten by NASAs OSIRIS-REx group in March 2024. Following its successful sample return, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was renamed OSIRIS-APEX and will now get in a prolonged objective to visit and study near-Earth asteroid Apophis in 2029. NASA Goddard offers total mission management, systems engineering, and the security and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the primary investigator. The university leads the science group and the missions science observation preparation and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, developed the spacecraft and provides flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are accountable for browsing the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Processing and curation for OSIRIS-RExs Bennu sample takes place at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. International collaborations on this objective include the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter instrument from CSA (the Canadian Space Agency) and asteroid sample science partnership with JAXAs (the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Hayabusa2 objective. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASAs New Frontiers Program, managed by the companys Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the firms Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The OSIRIS-REx team will be celebrated at an award supper on June 13, 2024, in Washington, D.C.The NAA bestowed the Robert J. Collier Trophy on the team behind NASAs OSIRIS-REx, acknowledging the missions location in aerospace history by being the very first U.S. objective to gather a sample from an asteroid and deliver it to Earth for study.NASAs OSIRIS-REx spacecraft leaving the surface area of asteroid Bennu after collecting a sample. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/CI LabInternational Collaboration and Scientific EndeavorsThe OSIRIS-REx team consists of NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado; University of Arizona, Tucson; and KinetX in Tempe, Arizona.The sample from the ancient asteroid Bennu that OSIRIS-REx delivered to Earth in September 2023 will give scientists worldwide a look into the earliest days of our solar system, providing insights into planet development and the origin of organics necessary for life on Earth. NASA Goddard supplies general mission management, systems engineering, and the security and mission guarantee for OSIRIS-REx. OSIRIS-REx is the 3rd mission in NASAs New Frontiers Program, managed by the agencys Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the companys Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
