From Bennu's sample to Apophis
OSIRIS-APEX
Launched in 2016 as OSIRIS-REx, this NASA spacecraft mapped the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, touched its surface in October 2020 to collect a sample, and delivered that sample to Earth in September 2023.
Renamed OSIRIS-APEX, it is now on its way to asteroid Apophis, which will pass unusually close to Earth in April 2029.
Key facts
- Agency
- NASA
- Launched
- 2016-09-08
- Launch vehicle
- Atlas V 411
- Power
- Solar arrays
- Mission type
- Sample return, now asteroid rendezvous
- Bennu sample returned
- 121.6 g
- Status
- Cruising to asteroid Apophis
Where it is now
Loading live position from NASA/JPL Horizons…
Asteroid Apophis, arriving in 2029.
Mission objectives
OSIRIS-REx set out to return pristine material from a carbon-rich asteroid to study the building blocks of planets and life. OSIRIS-APEX will study how Apophis is changed by its close encounter with Earth's gravity.
The spacecraft
It collected its sample with TAGSAM, a robotic arm that briefly touched Bennu and blew nitrogen gas to stir up material into a collector head. The sample capsule then parachuted into the Utah desert.
Discoveries and highlights
Bennu turned out to be a loose rubble pile; the sampling head sank into its surface far more easily than expected. Laboratory studies of the returned sample have found carbon, water-bearing minerals and organic compounds.
Route and timeline
- 2016-09-08Launch as OSIRIS-REx, Cape Canaveral
- 2018-12-03Arrival at Bennu
- 2020-10-20Sample collected from Bennu
- 2023-09-24Sample capsule landed in Utah
- 2029-04Arrival at Apophisplanned
Surprising facts about OSIRIS-APEX
- The spacecraft sank into Bennu's surface as if it were a ball pit.
- The 121.6 g Bennu sample is the largest asteroid sample ever returned to Earth.
- Apophis will pass closer to Earth in 2029 than some geostationary satellites.