(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample capsule to land at 10:55 a.m. EDT - Liveblog [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-09-24 After a 7 year journey to asteroid Bennu and back, the NASA OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will make history today as it makes a special delivery to earth of rock and regolith samples from Bennu. The samples, collected in 2020, are stowed in a special capsule, which separated from the main spacecraft hours ago at 6:42 a.m. EDT. The capsule will enter Earth's atmosphere at 10:42 EDT for a parachute-assisted landing around 10:55 a.m. EDT in Utah. Distance from earth at 8:00 a.m. EDT = 70,000 km. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft itself will sail past Earth for its next mission to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis in 2029. NASA webcast begins at 10:00 EDT. Meanwhile, let’s watch this re-cap from NASA and learn more about the mission. The Mission NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) was launched on September 8, 2016. Its mission — to travel to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, to harvest a sample of surface material and to return it to Earth for study. Following a year-long period of surveying and mapping in orbit around Bennu, OSIRIS-REx descended to the surface of Bennu, used a small vacuum-like instrument to collected about 250 grams of "gravel and surface material" and brought them back to Earth. The Regolith material will enable scientists to learn more about the formation and evolution of the Solar System, initial stages of planet formation, and the source of organic compounds which led to the formation of life on Earth. Touchdown The following video shows the dramatic OSIRIS-REx touch down event on October 20, 2020 to collect the regolith sample from asteroid Bennu. OSIRIS-APEX The OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft will swing past Earth after releasing the capsule. The mission will be renamed OSIRIS-APEX ('APophis EXplorer'). OSIRIS-APEX will go on to rendezvous with the near-Earth asteroid (and potentially hazardous object) 99942 Apophis in April 2029. 99942 Apophis is a near-Earth asteroid and a potentially hazardous one with a diameter of 370 metres that will get quite close to earth on April 13, 2029. See solarsystem.nasa.gov/… for more info on Apophis. Bennu and Apophis are both mythical deities from Egyptian mythology. Bennu was an ancient Egyptian deity linked with the Sun, creation, and rebirth. Apophis was the ancient Egyptian deity who embodied darkness and disorder. Both asteroids have near-Earth orbits and are potentially hazardous objects (PHOs). Asteroid Bennu Bennu is believed to be more than 4.5 billion years old, created within 10 million years of our solar system’s formation. Bennu likely broke off from a much larger carbon-rich asteroid about 700 million to 2 billion years ago. It likely formed in the Main Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter and has drifted close to Earth’s orbit since then. Bennu is an amalgamation of rocks that are loosely packed and barely held together by gravity or other forces. The asteroid is relatively rich in organic molecules. Its materials also appear to have been chemically altered by liquid water in the distant past. A major question in science is: how did Earth come to have an abundance of organic molecules and liquid water, two key ingredients for life as we know it? Scientists say that asteroids like Bennu could have delivered these ingredients to Earth billions of years ago. If analysis of Bennu’s rocks shows organic molecules similar those that could have been involved with the start of life on Earth, then it will indicate that such molecules needed for life on earth were synthesized in such asteroids where conditions were more favorable for such chemistry and then delivered to earth. If not, then the quest for our origins will go on. There is a 1-in-1750 chance that Bennu will collide with Earth between 2178 and 2290 with the highest risk on Sept 24, 2182. Names The various surface features on Bennu are named (by the International Astronomical Union) after birds and bird-like creatures in mythology. The asteroid’s surface features include craters, dorsa (peaks or ridges), fossae (grooves or trenches) and saxa (rocks and boulders). How many of the names shown on the map below can you recognize? See en.wikipedia.org/… for the origin of some of the names. Epilogue Let’s take a few moments off the hectic political news of the day and partake in this historic mission, the first its kind for NASA and use this opportunity to learn about the origins of life and ponder over our place in the Universe. As Carl Sagan famously said, we’re made of star stuff. Further Reading Update The capsule landed at 10:52 a.m. EDT, 3 minutes ahead of schedule. All is well. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/24/2195142/-OSIRIS-REx-asteroid-sample-capsule-to-land-at-10-55-a-m-EDT-Liveblog Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/