Watch Live Tue.: NASA Probe Grabs Asteroid Rocks to Bring Back to Earth

Asteroid 101 955 Bennu, compiled from 12 images photographed by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission on 2018 December 2. (Image Sources: NASA, Wikipedia.org, By NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona - https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-newly-arrived-osiris-rex-spacecraft-already-discovers-water-on-asteroid; see also https://www.asteroidmission.org/?attachment_id=12476, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74979917)

 

 

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

Early Tuesday evening, NASA's OSIRIS-REx probe will “TAG” asteroid Bennu, collecting rocks and dust samples for an eventual return to Earth. On-line, NASA-TV will provide live coverage of the event.

The OSIRIS-REx mission has been in orbit of asteroid 101955 Bennu since 2018 December 3, after launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 2016 September 8. It has taken two years to survey and map the asteroid's surface, to determine good sites for the TAG (Touch-and-Go) maneuver.

The asteroid is much rockier than expected. The “Nightingale” site chosen for the landing is only the size of a few parking spaces. If the first TAG does not succeed, OSIRIS-REx has only two other chances to attempt a sample collection, possibly at other sites. To stir-up rocks and dust samples, the probe carries three pressurized nitrogen canisters to fire at the collection site, from the end of the probe's robotic arm, one canister for each collection attempt.

Descending to the surface of Bennu will take about four hours, about the same time as one rotation of the asteroid on its axis. However, after descent, the TAG sample procedure will be quite short: only 16 seconds! After each collection attempt, the space probe will hover above the site to determine if the attempt was successful, before either attempting again or returning to orbit.

After successfully collecting material from Bennu, OSIRIS-REx will slowly launch into orbit of the asteroid, where it will stay for the rest of this year. Next year, OSIRIS-REx will begin the journey home, with the Bennu sample materials, which is expected to take about two years.

OSIRIS-REx is expected to land in the Utah desert on 2023 September 24. The spacecraft and Bennu samples will then be recovered and taken for study by scientists.

Bennu is considered a "rubble pile" asteroid, formed in the deep past, possibly near the time our Solar System was formed. Gravity slowly forced remnants of collisions of material to come together forming this asteroid. Bennu looks something like a spinning top, with a diameter of about 0.33 statute mile / 500 meters.

Bennu has a slight chance of hitting the Earth in the distant future. In fact, NASA ranks Bennu as the second-most likely asteroid to hit Earth, perhaps sometime in the last 25 years of the 22^nd century. Although, even this chance is rather remote.

Determining Bennu's orbit of the Sun, which varies, is important for a final determination if the asteroid could impact the Earth sometime in the future. The orbit of Bennu changes due to the heating of the Sun-side of the asteroid, and then this solar energy is dissapated into Outer Space when that side of the asteroid turns away from the Sun. 

Last month, NASA reported that scientists have discovered that some meteorites from the asteroid 4 Vesta have been found on Bennu. “We found six boulders ranging in size from 5 to 14 feet (about 1.5 to 4.3 meters) scattered across Bennu’s southern hemisphere and near the equator,” said Daniella DellaGiustina of the Lunar & Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson. “These boulders are much brighter than the rest of Bennu and match material from Vesta.”

NASA's OSIRIS-REx science team also recently reported that Bennu observations have led to a conclusion that some of the carbon-rich materials of the asteroid could have seeded Earth with the chemicals necessary for the beginning of life. These conclusions came from six studies published in the journals Science and Science Advances on October 8.

Two Japanese missions have accomplished similar asteroid sample return missions in the recent past. The Hayabusa spacecraft returned tiny grains from asteroid 25143 Itokawa in 2010. Hayabusa-2 returned shrapnel from asteroid Ryugu last year.

Live coverage of the event begins on NASA-TV at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 21:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on Tuesday, 2020 October 20. Touch-down of the spacecraft is expected at about 6:12 p.m. EDT / 22:12 UTC.

NASA-TV: Link >>> https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public

Internet Links to Additional Information:

NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission:

Link 1 >>> https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex

Link 2 >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSIRIS-REx

Asteroid 101955 Bennu: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu 

Asterioid 4 Vesta: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_Vesta

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
               Monday, 2020 October 19.

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Glenn A. Walsh, Informal Science Educator & Communicator:
< http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Formerly Trustee, Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: < http://www.planetarium.cc >                                                               Buhl Observatory: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/11/75th-anniversary-americas-5th-public.html >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago: < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear: < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >

October: Closest View of Mars Until 2035

 

October is the best month for viewing the planet Mars until September of 2035.This is a true color image of Mars taken by the OSIRIS instrument on the ESA Rosetta spacecraft during its 2007 February 24 fly-by of the planet, from a distance of about 149,129.1 statute miles / 240 000 kilometers.

(Image Sources: European Space Agency, Wikipedia.org, By ESA & MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/RSSD/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA, CC BY-SA IGO 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0-igo, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56489423)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

October is the best month to view the planet Mars, due to its closeness to Earth, until September of 2035.

Tuesday (October 13) at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 23:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) will mark the closest Opposition of Mars, when Earth will lie directly between Mars and the Sun. At Opposition, Mars will rise in the eastern sky approximately at local sunset, stay in the sky all night long, and set in the west approximately at local sunrise.

Actually, Mars came the closest to Earth on October 6 at 10:18 a.m. EDT / 14:18 UTC, when the distance between Earth and Mars was about 38.57 million statute miles / 62.07 million kilometers.

Although Mars is not quite as close as will be in 2035, or that it was in 2003 or 2018, it is still close enough for a good show in the sky. This is a good time to take a look at Mars, whether with the naked-eyes (one-power), or observing more detail on the Martian surface with binoculars or a telescope.

So, starting Tuesday (October 13), people can view Mars just about any time once it gets dark, weather-permitting of course. The best time to look for Mars is low in the eastern sky shortly after sunset (as Mars begins to rise). Or, you can look low in the southern sky in the middle of the night (as Mars appears to travel from east to west in the night sky), or low in the western sky just before sunrise (as Mars begins set).

This month, Mars, with an apparent visual magnitude of -2.6, will be the brightest object in the night sky, other than the Moon and the planet Venus. It will even be a little brighter than the planet Jupiter (at about apparent visual magnitude of -2.3), for this month.

You may need a higher elevation, with few obstructions such as trees, buildings, and hills, to see Mars. For most of this month Mars will be approximately +5 degrees declination, north of the celestial equator. But, as mentioned, it will be one of the brightest objects in the night sky this month, glowing with a reddish-orange tint. So, when you do find it, you will, likely, be sure it is Mars.

Close approaches between Earth and Mars occur about every two years, due to the different orbits of the two planets around the Sun. While Earth takes 365.256 days to travel around the Sun, Mars takes 686.98 Earth days / 1.88 Earth years to complete one solar orbit.

Not every close approach of Mars is as close as others. Mars' distance from the Sun varies quite a bit, depending on where Mars is located in its solar orbit. When Mars is closest to the Sun (as it is this month), and at the same time close to the Earth, these are the times when Mars is the closest in distance to the Earth.

Many people may remember the close approach in 2003, when Mars came closer to Earth than it had in 60,000 years. On 2003 August 27, Earth and Mars were only 34.65 million statute miles / 55.76 million kilometers apart.

Two years ago on 2018 July 31, Mars was almost as close as in 2003. At that time Mars came within 35.78 million statute miles / 57.59 kilometers of the Earth.

Set your calendars: Mars will not be closer than in 2003 until 2287 August 28, when it will approach Earth from a distance of 34.60 statute miles / 55.69 kilometers.

The end of this month will mark the 82^nd anniversary of the famous radio broadcast, The War of the Worlds. It was on the evening of 1938 October 30, the day before the Cross-Quarter Day of Halloween, that the CBS radio's Mercury Theater on the Air, presented a radio adaptation of the famous H.G. Wells 1898 novel, The War of the Worlds.

Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker Orson Welles, the radio drama began as fictional news bulletins regarding the landing in central New Jersey of invaders from the planet Mars. Occurring one day before Halloween, and with war threatening in Europe (less than a year before the beginning of World War II), this radio broadcast caused a public panic as few people heard the disclaimer at the beginning of the program that this was a work of fiction.

Internet Links to Additional Information ---

Planet Mars: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars 

NASA Missions to Mars: Link >>> https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/main/index.html 

More on 1938 Broadcast of The War of the Worlds:

Link >>> http://johnbrashear.tripod.com/wlcr.html#warofworlds 

Related Blog-Posts ---

"NASA Laser Retroreflector Going to Mars on Perseverance Rover.

Wed., 2020 Oct. 7.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2020/10/nasa-laser-retroreflector-going-to-mars.html

 

"Thur.-AM U.S. Joins China & U.A.E in Race to Mars; Watch Launch Live."

Mon., 2020 July 27.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2020/07/thur-am-us-joins-china-uae-in-race-to.html

 

"For Students: Mars 2020 Name the Rover Essay Contest By Nov. 1."

 Tue., 2019 Oct. 15.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2019/10/for-students-mars-2020-name-rover-essay.html

 

"Place Your Name on Mars 2020 Rover Microchip By This Monday, Sept. 30."

Thur., 2019 Sept. 26.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2019/09/place-your-name-on-mars-2020-rover.html

 

"Spring to Begin: Vernal Equinox on Earth Wednesday & on Mars Saturday!"

Wed., 2019 March 20.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2019/03/spring-vernal-equinox-begins-march-20.html

 

"'War of the Worlds' Panic Broadcast: 75th Anniversary." Tue., 2013 Oct. 29.

Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2013/10/war-of-worlds-panic-broadcast-75th.html 

 

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
               Monday, 2020 October 12.

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gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Informal Science Educator & Communicator:
< http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Formerly Trustee, Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >  

NASA Laser Retroreflector Going to Mars on Perseverance Rover

In the upper left of this image is the Laser Retroflector, which will be located near the center of NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover in the larger image. Some time in the future, a Mars orbiter spacecraft will be able to use a laser to determine the exact location of Perseverance on the Martian surface.

(Image Sources: NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology)

By Glenn A. Walsh

Reporting for SpaceWatchtower

Astronauts on the lunar landing missions of Apollo 11, 14, and 15 installed Laser Retroreflectors on the Moon, so scientists could better determine the distance between Earth and the Moon. Now, NASA is sending a Laser Reflector to Mars, on the Perseverance Rover, for similar scientific experiments.

Laser Retroreflectors are small arrays of special mirrors which reflect a laser beam directly back to its source, as a bicycle reflector reflects traffic light back to the vehicle source. Scientists use Laser Retroreflectors for laser ranging experiments, such as distance between planets or the distance between an object in orbit and a planet. Such experiments can also be used to determine the shape of a planet, the orbit of a planet, and how the planet's orbit changes over time.

In the case of the Laser Retroreflectors left on the Moon, laser beams are directed from Earth to the Moon; scientists measure the time it takes the laser beam to reach the Moon and return to Earth. The result of this experiment has provided detailed data regarding how the Moon is slowly moving farther away from the Earth. At the present time, the Moon is moving 1.49 inches / 3.8 centimeters away from the Earth each year.

Laser ranging experiments, using Apollo-era Laser Retroreflectors, continues to this day.

In the case of Laser Retroreflectors on Mars (smaller than the Laser Retroreflectors left on the Moon), it is currently not possible to conduct laser ranging experiments directly from the Earth, due to the great distance between the two planets. A future Mars orbiter spacecraft will use a laser, not yet developed, to conduct laser ranging experiments from Martian orbit.

Scientists, then, will be able to determine the location of rovers on the surface of Mars. As NASA will know the precise orbit of the spacecraft originating the laser beam, scientists will then be able to derive the laser ranging data sought from the Laser Retroreflector on the Martian surface. This could also make future landings on Mars more precise.

These laser ranging experiments could also provide future proof of Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. As Perseverance is mobile, scientists will be able to receive data from several points of reference on Mars. This will help determine the influence on Mars' orbit from curvature in space-time. This could help scientists understand how gravity shapes our Solar System, and possibly even understand the roles of Dark Matter and Dark Energy in our Universe.

Perseverance will be the first rover on Mars to be equipped with the palm-size Laser Retroreflector Array (LaRA). A smaller Laser Retroreflector was also installed on NASA's Mars InSight Lander, which does not independently move, which landed on Mars on 2018 November 26. A Laser Retroreflector will also be aboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) ExoMars Rover scheduled for launch in 2022.

Perseverance launched toward the Red Planet on July 30, at 7:50 a.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT) / 11:50 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It is expected to land next February 18, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) / 20:00 UTC, in Mars' Jezero Crater.

Originally titled NASA's Mars 2020 mission, the Perseverance Rover was designed with the assistance of the Curiosity Rover engineering team, to create a more robust Mars rover. The Perseverance Rover will have a major astrobiology mission, as well as investigate the planet's geology. The project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California.

During its travels on the planet, Perseverance will collect soil samples and store the samples in special containers. NASA expects to retrieve these sample containers and return them to Earth for scientific analysis, during a potential, future Mars sample-return mission.

 

 Internet Links to Additional Information ---

NASA Mars 2020 Mission: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_2020 

NASA Perseverance Rover: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseverance_(rover) 

Laser Retroreflector: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retroreflector

Image: Laser RetroReflector on the top deck of the Mars InSight space lander, for laser range-finding from Martian orbit and future node in a proposed Mars geophysical network:
Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2018/11/astronomical-calendar-2018-november.html

 Planet Mars: Link >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars

 Related Blog-Posts ---

 

"Thur.-AM U.S. Joins China & U.A.E in Race to Mars; Watch Launch Live."

Mon., 2020 July 27.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2020/07/thur-am-us-joins-china-uae-in-race-to.html

 

"'InSight' Space Probe to Land on Mars Monday Afternoon." Mon. 2018 Nov. 26.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2018/11/insight-space-probe-to-land-on-mars.html

 

Source: Glenn A. Walsh Reporting for SpaceWatchtower, a project of Friends of the Zeiss.
              Wednesday, 2020 October 7.

                             Like This Post?  Please Share!

           More Astronomy & Science News - SpaceWatchtower Twitter Feed:
            Link >>> https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower

        Astronomy & Science Links: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#sciencelinks

                Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your in-box ?
                Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >.

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Informal Science Educator & Communicator:
< http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Formerly Trustee, Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc > 

Astro-Calendar: 2020 Oct. / SpaceX Launch & Halloween 'Blue' Moon!

     

This is an image of a "Blue" Moon from the Partial Lunar Eclipse of 2009 December, as seen from southwestern Ireland. There are two Full Moon phases in October. The first Full Moon, which is also the annual Harvest Moon, occurs on October 1 at 5:05 p.m. EDT / 21:05 UTC. The second Full Moon of October, the annual Hunter's Moon and sometimes referred to as a "Blue" Moon, occurs on the Cross-Quarter Day of Halloween at 10:49 a.m. EDT / 14:49 UTC (which is the smallest Full Moon of 2020).

October 31 will also mark the launch from Cape Canaveral of the first NASA / SpaceX operational (non-demonstration) Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station, with Crew-1: NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker and Japan's Soichi Noguchi. More info: Link >>> https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-spacex-to-launch-first-commercial-crew-rotation-mission-to-international-space-station

The October 31 Full Moon satisfies one of two definitions of a "Blue" Moon: the second Full Moon in a calendar month. The original, classic definition of a "Blue" Moon is the third Full Moon in a calendar season with four Full Moon phases. It should be noted that the term "Blue" Moon is not an astronomical term, but promulgated in the 19th century by the Maine Farmer's Almanac--and, the color of the Full Moon rarely has a blue tint.

 (Image Sources: Wikipedia.org, By Codybird - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8877938)

Astronomical Calendar for 2020 October ---
Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium4.tripod.com/astrocalendar/2020.html#oct

 Related Blog Post ---

"Astro-Calendar: 2020 Sept. / Sept. 2 Full Moon NOT Harvest Moon."

Tuesday, 2020 Sept. 1.

Link >>> https://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2020/09/astro-calendar-2020-sept-sept-2-full.html

Source: Friends of the Zeiss.
              Thursday, 2020 October 1.

                             Like This Post?  Please Share!

            More Astronomy & Science News - SpaceWatchtower Twitter Feed:
            Link >>> https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower

        Astronomy & Science Links: Link >>> http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#sciencelinks

                Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your in-box ?
                Send request to < spacewatchtower@planetarium.cc >.

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Informal Science Educator & Communicator:
< http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail: < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
Project Director, Friends of the Zeiss: < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/fotz/ >
SpaceWatchtower Editor / Author: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Formerly Astronomical Observatory Coordinator & Planetarium Lecturer, original Buhl Planetarium & Institute of Popular Science (a.k.a. Buhl Science Center), Pittsburgh's science & technology museum from 1939 to 1991.
Formerly Trustee, Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >