Abstract
In May of 2011, NASA selected the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) asteroid sample return mission as the third mission in the New Frontiers program. The other two New Frontiers missions are New Horizons, which explored Pluto during a flyby in July 2015 and is on its way for a flyby of Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 on January 1, 2019, and Juno, an orbiting mission that is studying the origin, evolution, and internal structure of Jupiter. The spacecraft departed for near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu aboard an United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 evolved expendable launch vehicle at 7:05 p.m. EDT on September 8, 2016, on a seven-year journey to return samples from Bennu. The spacecraft is on an outbound-cruise trajectory that will result in a rendezvous with Bennu in November 2018. The science instruments on the spacecraft will survey Bennu to measure its physical, geological, and chemical properties, and the team will use these data to select a site on the surface to collect at least 60 g of asteroid regolith. The team will also analyze the remote-sensing data to perform a detailed study of the sample site for context, assess Bennu’s resource potential, refine estimates of its impact probability with Earth, and provide ground-truth data for the extensive astronomical data set collected on this asteroid. The spacecraft will leave Bennu in 2021 and return the sample to the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) on September 24, 2023.







































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Abbreviations
- AAM:
-
Asteroid Approach Maneuver
- APID:
-
Application Process Identifier Definition
- ASIST:
-
Advanced System for Integration and Spacecraft Test
- ATLO:
-
Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations
- AU:
-
Astronomical Unit: the average distance between the Earth and the Sun
- C3:
-
Characteristic energy of launch
- Delta-DOR:
-
Delta-Differential One-way Ranging
- DLA:
-
Declination of the Launch Asymptote
- DRA:
-
Design Reference Asteroid
- DRM:
-
Design Reference Mission
- DSM:
-
Deep Space Maneuver
- DSN:
-
Deep Space Network
- ECAS:
-
Eight-Color Asteroid Survey
- EGA:
-
Earth gravity assist
- FDS:
-
Flight Dynamics System
- FEDS:
-
Front End Data System
- FOB:
-
Flight Operations Bucket
- GM:
-
universal coefficient of gravity (G) multiplied by the mass of a planetary object (M)
- GN&C:
-
Guidance, Navigation, and Control
- GRAIL:
-
Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission
- I/F:
-
Ratio of reflected energy to incoming energy (i.e. irradiance/solar flux)
- IEST:
-
Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology
- ISO:
-
International Organization for Standardization
- ISVM:
-
Integrated Global Science Value Map
- JPL:
-
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- JSC:
-
NASA Johnson Space Center
- LIDAR:
-
Light Detection and Ranging
- LINEAR:
-
Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research survey
- MAVEN:
-
Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission
- MIC:
-
Microparticle Impact Collection
- MRO:
-
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
- MSA:
-
Mission Support Area
- MSL:
-
Mean Sea Level
- NASA:
-
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- NEA:
-
Near-Earth asteroid
- NEAR:
-
Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous mission
- NFT:
-
Natural Feature Tracking
- OCAMS:
-
OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite
- OLA:
-
OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter
- OSIRIS-REx:
-
Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer
- OTES:
-
OSIRIS-REx Thermal Emission Spectrometer
- OVIRS:
-
OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer
- PDS:
-
Planetary Data System
- PET:
-
Preliminary-examination Team
- PSFD:
-
Particle Size Frequency Distribution
- REXIS:
-
Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer
- RGB:
-
Red, Green, Blue
- RLA:
-
Right Ascension of the Launch Asymptote
- ROI:
-
Region of Interest
- SAP:
-
Sample Analysis Plan
- SARA:
-
Sample Acquisition and Return Assembly
- SPC:
-
stereophotoclinometry
- SPICE:
-
S—Spacecraft ephemeris; P—Planet, satellite, comet, or asteroid ephemerides; I—Instrument description kernel; C—Pointing kernel; E—Events kernel
- SPK:
-
Spacecraft and Planet Kernel
- SPOC:
-
Science Processing and Operations Center
- SRC:
-
Sample Return Capsule
- TAG:
-
Touch and Go
- TAGCAMS:
-
Touch and Go Camera System
- TAGSAM:
-
Touch and Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism
- UTTR:
-
Utah Test and Training Range
- Vis-NIR:
-
Visible and Near-Infrared
- YORP:
-
Yarkovsky–O’Keefe–Radzievskii–Paddack effect
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Acknowledgements
The launch of OSIRIS-REx was the culmination of over a decade of hard work by thousands of people across the globe. This event marked the beginning of one of the greatest scientific expeditions of all time—sample return from asteroid Bennu. We thank the multitude of team members and their families for the dedication and support of this mission. This material is based upon work supported by NASA under Contracts NNM10AA11C, NNG12FD66C, and NNG13FC02C issued through the New Frontiers Program. Copy editing and indexing provided by Mamassian Editorial Services.
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Edited by Dante Lauretta and Christopher T. Russell
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Lauretta, D.S., Balram-Knutson, S.S., Beshore, E. et al. OSIRIS-REx: Sample Return from Asteroid (101955) Bennu. Space Sci Rev 212, 925–984 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-017-0405-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-017-0405-1