NASA asteroid mission: OSIRIS-REx is undertaking a challenging mission to visit the near-Earth asteroid, collect samples and deliver them safely back to the Earth. NASA asteroid mission: OSIRIS-REx is undertaking a challenging mission to visit the near-Earth asteroid, collect samples and deliver them safely back to the Earth. Using the Earth as a slingshot, the spacecraft OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer) will receive an assist to complete its journey to the asteroid Bennu. The gravity assist will change OSIRIS-REx’s trajectory to put the spacecraft on a course to match the asteroid’s path and speed. “The Earth Gravity Assist is a clever way to move the spacecraft onto Bennu’s orbital plane using Earth’s own gravity instead of expending fuel,” said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Source: Indian Express September 02, 2017 04:41 UTC