Imagine a parallel bus parking for two or three parking spaces, surrounded by two-story boulders.
On October 21, NASA's mission, led by the University of Arizona, will attempt to retrieve a piece of space rock over 320 million kilometers away.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission will try to touch the surface of the asteroid and collect loose rubble.
OSIRIS-REx is the first asteroid sample return mission in the United States to collect and deliver an intact, unaltered sample from an asteroid back to Earth for scientific research.
The spacecraft will try to touch the surface of the asteroid Bennu, which is sweeping through space at a speed of 101,000 kilometers per hour.
If all goes according to plan, the spacecraft will deploy a 3-meter-long robotic arm called TAGSAM – Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism – and spend about 10 seconds collecting at least 50 grams of loose rubble from the asteroid.
The spacecraft, which is being remotely monitored by a team of scientists and engineers, will then begin its return to Earth, scheduled for 2023.
You can watch this 'Touch-And-Go' maneuver on October 20 at 5:00 PM EDT / 2:00 PM PDT (October 21 00:00 UTC) on NASA TV and on the agency's website.
Sources: Photo: NASA / Goddard / University of Arizona
