News Archive / Tagged: Bennu

• OSIRIS-REx capsule closed following successful Bennu sample collection

  Laurel KornfeldNovember 1st, 2020

  NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft collected enough soil samples of the asteroid Bennu on its first attempt that mission controllers commanded the spacecraft to close its Sample Return Capsule (SRC).

• Twelve features on asteroid Bennu get official names

  Laurel KornfeldMarch 24th, 2020

  Twelve surface features on the asteroid Bennu, imaged by NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) probe from orbit, have been officially named by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which regulates the naming of celestial objects and their surface features.

• OSIRIS-REx mission seeking citizen scientists’ help

  Laurel KornfeldMay 29th, 2019

  NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is seeking help from citizen scientists in choosing a site on asteroid Bennu to collect surface samples to be returned to Earth.

• NASA’s OSIRIS-REx discovers surprises on asteroid Bennu

  Jim SharkeyMarch 20th, 2019

  NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has taken images of asteroid Bennu that show particle plumes erupting from a surface more rugged than previously expected.

• OSIRIS-REx spacecraft enters record-breaking orbit around asteroid Bennu

  Jim SharkeyJanuary 2nd, 2019

  Almost overshadowed while New Horizons was zipping past Ultima Thule, another spacecraft went into orbit around an asteroid, albeit a little closer to home.

• Shutdown: What’s open at NASA?

  Patrick AttwellDecember 29th, 2018

  With no sign that it will be resolved soon, the ongoing partial U.S. government shutdown looks to continue well into the first days or weeks of 2019. As such, it is having wide-reaching effects on NASA's operations.

• Barely on the job a week, OSIRIS-REx makes major discovery

  Cullen DesforgesDecember 11th, 2018

  On Dec. 3, 2018, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at the half-kilometer wide Bennu asteroid to begin a two-year study to inspect, investigate, and eventually collect samples of the materials making up its mysterious surface.

• OSIRIS-REx arrives at Bennu asteroid

  Laurel KornfeldDecember 4th, 2018

  NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft has successfully arrived at its destination, the asteroid Bennu.

• How two NASA missions will rewrite what we know about our solar system

  Laurel KornfeldNovember 24th, 2018

  An asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter and a Kuiper Belt Object four billion miles away will both have their mysteries unveiled when NASA missions explore them in December and January.

• OSIRIS-REx – marks the spot

  Jason RhianAugust 25th, 2018

  NASA provided an update on Friday, Aug. 24, about the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft. By all accounts of the experts working on the expedition to the asteroid Bennu - things are going very well.

• OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite to unveil the real nature of asteroid Bennu

  Tomasz NowakowskiMay 4th, 2017

  NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is on its way to uncovering the secrets of an intriguing carbonaceous asteroid named Bennu, which holds many clues about the formation of the Sun and planets. With the help of its imaging system, the probe is expected to deliver crucial insights into the real nature of this rocky body, improving our understanding of the evolution of the Solar System.

• OSIRIS-REx begins search for Earth-Trojan asteroids

  Jim SharkeyFebruary 15th, 2017

  On Feb. 9, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft began searching for an elusive type of near-Earth object known as Earth-Trojan asteroids. The spacecraft, currently on a two-year outbound journey to the asteroid Bennu, will spend nearly two weeks looking for evidence of these small bodies.

• ULA Atlas V sends OSIRIS-REx on its way toward asteroid Bennu

  Bart LeahySeptember 8th, 2016

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The team for NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission cheered as a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 411 powered the asteroid explorer spaceward. Liftoff occurred on time at 7:05 p.m. EDT (23:05 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex (SLC) 41 to send OSIRIS-REx into a hyperbolic orbit to catch up with the asteroid Bennu.