in good order now , NASA ’s Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security – Regolith Explorer ( OSIRIS - REx ) spacecraft is hurtling through the void to connect up with anasteroid name Bennuin 2018 . While the intrepid spacecraft still has a way to go until its enceinte rendezvous , today it ’ll casually fly by Earth . Unfortunately , it impersonate no contiguous danger to our planet , but if you ’ve got a secure telescope with a camera , youmight even be able to snap a picture show !
At around 12:52pm EDT , OSIRIS - REx will make itsclosest approachto Earth , missing us by just 11,000 miles ( about 17,700 km ) , report the New York Times . It ’ll surge over Australia and Antarctica at about 19,000 miles per hour ( 30,580 klick per 60 minutes ) , grabbing some impulse so that it can slingshot itself toward Bennu . This somberness assist from Earth will nudge the ballistic capsule upabout six grade , putting it on track to fleece up with Bennu .
“ The Earth Gravity Assist is a clever fashion to move the spacecraft onto Bennu ’s orbital plane using Earth ’s own solemnity instead of expend fuel , ” Dante Lauretta , OSIRIS - king principal tec , said in astatement .
OSIRIS - REx leave Earth in September 2016 on its journey toward Bennu — but it ’ll be back . The space vehicle will take samples of the asteroid , which scientists believecontains moleculesthat date back to the birth of the solar system of rules . The spacecraft will return a few pound of bumpy sample to Earthin 2023 .
While there ’s not a ton of skill that can be done with today ’s flyby , it ’s a coolheaded photo opp . The OSIRIS - male monarch team is encouraging the populace to put up any picturesto their website , because hey , you never know . If you ’re in Australia — or Antarctica , for some grounds — now ’s your chance to shine .
[ New York Times ]
FlybyOSIRIS - RExScienceSpace
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