After a two-year journey, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx probe has successfully landed on the asteroid known as Bennu.
The revelation was proudly announced of the official NASA Osiris-REx Twitter page. The two year journey is one that required a decade of planning, and luckily has been successful in the first part of its mission.
The OSIRIS-REx is currently orbiting the asteroid at a distance of roughly 7 kilometers. The probe will spend the next several days edging itself closer to Bennu, before it begins the long process of surveying the asteroid. It is expected to begin taking samples in July of next year. According to NASA project manager Rick Burns, the probe will be able to obtain up to 2KG of sample material if all goes well.
Flight navigator of the mission, Coralie Adam, has stated that they intend to take the probe over the North Pole several times, and over the equator and the South Pole as well. If successful in its’ efforts, the mission should give NASA a clearer picture on Bennu’s gravity, and well as its mass, which will make further expeditions to the asteroid far easier.
The OSIRIS-REx is expected to leave Bennu sometime in March of 2021, and will return to Earth in September of 2023.
