NASA is preparing to send probe to collect samples from asteroid – Techworld

seven-year mission aims to bring the valuable information scientists of the Earth’s original training and life as we know

NASA is only a month to launch a spacecraft designed to return to Earth with a sample an asteroid.

Scientists are hoping that the seven-year mission will give them information about the formation of the solar system, about life on Earth and potentially life anywhere in the universe, as well as valuable information about asteroids could affect Earth.

“This mission exemplifies our bold quest to go beyond and study our solar system and to better understand the universe and our place in it,” said Geoff Yoder, representative of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA.

The probe, known as OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to be released at the top of the Atlas V rocket 411 on September 8 from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Hold it was found that travel 1.2 billion miles to reach the next asteroid of the Earth, called as Bennu in 2018 and while traveling with the asteroid, begin to collect observations about it.

the probe will, for example, trace the thermal emissions from the asteroid, which will give scientists an idea of ​​how the sun’s heat is affecting his career. The Osiris-REx also will search for natural satellites, measuring its acceleration, map its surface and study their geological properties.

However, the probe will not land on the asteroid. Instead, it will travel next to it and use a robotic arm to reach it and unleash a burst of five seconds of nitrogen gas, raising loose rocks that can then be captured by the probe.

The spacecraft will carry enough nitrogen for three attempts samples. Scientists expect to collect between 60 to 120 grams of soil and rock samples.

The expectation is that Osiris-REx leave the asteroid in March 2021 and reach Earth orbit in September 2023. The probe then would abandon the capsule carrying the asteroid sample.

According to NASA, the spacecraft also will remain in Earth orbit, while the capsule takes its way to the wilderness of Utah in September 2023. The sample will then be taken for analysis at the Johnson Space Center.

The space agency explains that the Bennu was probably formed by debris from an explosion of a star to collide with the material of a nebula. Over millions of years it traveled through space, the asteroid has reduced the gravity of the planets by which passed.

Due to its age, it is expected that the asteroid contains materials that were present when the solar system was first formed and this may have had role in the origin of life.

By studying this material, scientists hope to learn more about the origin of the solar system and life as we know it.