2016-09-10

I wonder if this would've made Carl Sagan proud?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSIRIS-REx#Science_objectives

The science objectives of the mission are:[24]
  1. Return and analyze a sample of pristine carbonaceous asteroid regolith in an amount sufficient to study the nature, history, and distribution of its constituent minerals and organic material.
  2. Map the global properties, chemistry, and mineralogy of a primitive carbonaceous asteroid to characterize its geologic and dynamic history and provide context for the returned samples.
  3. Document the texture, morphology, geochemistry, and spectral properties of the regolith at the sampling site in situ at scales down to millimeters.
  4. Measure the Yarkovsky effect (a thermal force on the object) on a potentially hazardous asteroid and constrain the asteroid properties that contribute to this effect.
  5. Characterize the integrated global properties of a primitive carbonaceous asteroid to allow for direct comparison with ground-based telescopic data of the entire asteroid population.
Telescopic observations have helped define the orbit of 101955 Bennu, a near-Earth object with a mean diameter in the range of 480 to 511 meters (1575 to 1678 ft).[25] It completes an orbit of the Sun every 436.604 days (1.2 years). This orbit takes it close to the Earth every six years. Although the orbit is reasonably well known, scientists continue to refine it. It is critical to know the orbit of Bennu because recent calculations produced a cumulative probability of 1 in 1410 (or 0.071%) of impact with Earth in the period 2169 to 2199.[26] Part of the OSIRIS-REx mission is to refine understanding of non-gravitational effects (such as the Yarkovsky effect) on this orbit, and the implications of those effects for Bennu's collision probability. Knowing Bennu's physical properties will be critical for future scientists to know when developing an asteroid impact avoidance mission.[21]
Telescopic observations have revealed some basic properties of Bennu. They indicate that it is very dark and is classified as a B-type asteroid, a sub-type of the carbonaceous C-type asteroids. Such asteroids are considered "primitive", having undergone little geological change from their time of formation.

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