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NASA released photos taken from the field of view of the navigation camera (NavCam 2) on October 20, when OSIRIS-Rex reached and took samples of the surface of asteroid Bennu.
The probe was taken from the Nightingale site during NASA’s sample selection case for the OSIRIS-REx mission. As the spacecraft approaches the point, the shadow of the sampling arm is visible at the bottom of the film.
Then, the sampling head affects the Nightingale site and fires a bottle of nitrogen to activate a large volume of material. These photos were taken by NavCam 2 when the team on Earth got confirmation at 18:08 pm EDT of Bennu’s good touchdown.
The sampling head reached the asteroid’s surface after just six seconds until the spacecraft burned back when the shadow of the sampling arm was again evident next to the unstable materials on the asteroid’s surface.
What is it about?
Since the sample is locked away in the Sample Return Capsule, NASA’s OSIRIS-Rex posted a clip of Bennu’s touch-and-go project on Twitter. “This is the view from one of my navigation cameras … pretty intense, huh? #ToBennuAndBack“said the tweet.
Now that the sample is sealed in the Sample Return Capsule, I can finally share this video from TAG! This is the view from one of my navigation cameras … pretty intense, huh? #ToBennuAndBack More details: https://t.co/JUSk8YDaow pic.twitter.com/TqPUm9YBvU – NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) October 30, 2020
The video intrigued science enthusiasts. Twitter netizen Richard Butler beloved the phenomenon and I liked how Bennu corrected his “cold” landing trajectory. Since the video was on black and white cameras, some Twitter users got it confused on the color of the samples.
would it really be brown though? I thought it was just gray, but I know NASA used black and white cameras before I thought – blizz (@ fairyflosslord7) October 30, 2020
One of OSIRIS-REx’s three cameras for its Touch-and-Go (TAGCAMS) camera system is NavCam 2, a black and white camera. Malin Space Science Systems developed TAGCAMS and is operated by Lockheed Martin Space. It is used in the navigation, power and guidance system of the spacecraft.
Bennu’s TAG photos
Over the span of three hours, the video was recorded and started about an hour after the spacecraft conducted the departure maneuver of orbit. In the center of the film, the spacecraft rotates, then the NavCam 2 takes its gaze away from the asteroid, then performed one final rotation and again aimed the camera and sampling arm at Bennu’s surface. After a back burn, the clip ended a few minutes later.
The video was developed using 189 images taken by NavCam 2 for the spacecraft’s navigation system, Natural Feature Tracking (NFT), which allowed OSIRIS-Rex to autonomously navigate Bennu’s surface using the built-in image catalog and compare them. with real pictures. During the sampling case, NavCam 2 took photos of Bennu’s terrain, so that the NFT could change the spacecraft’s position as it descended towards the target’s landing field.
Scientists are now studying, with the latest photos, what prompted the incredibly dark areas found in the middle and top of the images. The shadow in the upper region could be attributed to the sampling arm or the shadow cast by the surface materials as they suspect. They can be a vacuum induced by the propeller of a spacecraft or by the material raised for the central part.
READ ALSO: NASA is about to land on Bennu, may find new clues to the beginning of life
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