(NewsNation) — NASA has decided not to rest on its laurels when it comes to asteroid exploration.
The federal space agency plans to reuse a spacecraft that recently collected samples from the asteroid Bennu in a seven-year, 4 billion-mile journey. OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer) completed its mission in September and is now on its way with a new name to explore a new destination.
Now called OSIRIS-APEX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Apophis Explorer), the spacecraft is going on a “bonus mission” to study an asteroid’s 2029 flyby of Earth, NASA said in a news release last week.
NASA is sending the craft to the asteroid Apophis, which the agency says is made of silicate materials and nickel-iron, as opposed to the carbon-rich Bennu.
“The intrigue of Apophis is its exceptionally close approach of our planet on April 13, 2029,” NASAS said. “Although Apophis will not hit Earth during this encounter or in the foreseeable future, the pass in 2029 will bring the asteroid within 20,000 miles of the surface – closer than some satellites, and close enough that it could be visible to the naked eye in the Eastern Hemisphere.”
The asteroid is estimated to be about 1,100 feet across and was discovered in 2004, according to NASA. Named after an Egyptian god — also known as Apep — who embodied chaos, darkness and disorder, the asteroid was first identified as one of the “most hazardous asteroids that could impact Earth.”
However, scientists later discovered through orbit analysis that it poses no impact risk for at least another century.
Asteroids of this size are estimated to come this close to Earth only once every 7,500 years, according to NASA.
“OSIRIS-APEX will study Apophis immediately after such a pass, allowing us to see how its surface changes by interacting with Earth’s gravity,” said Amy Simon, the mission’s project scientist based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The spacecraft is expected to reach the asteroid on April 13, 2029, and will observe it for the following 18 months. It will study changes to Apophis caused by its Earth encounter, as well as map its surface and analyze its chemical makeup.
Then, OSIRIS-APEX will dip within 16 feet of the asteroid’s surface before engaging its thrusters to kick up dust and rocks.
How will OSIRIS-APEX get to the asteroid? It will take six close Sun passes and get three gravity assists from Earth.
“What OSIRIS-APEX will discover about Apophis remains to be seen,” NASA said, “but if the mission’s previous incarnation is any indication, surprising science lies ahead.”
