OSIRIS-APEX

• In an unprecedented extension of its celestial duties, the spacecraft that delivered asteroid samples from Bennu, OSIRIS-REx has embarked on a new mission, and NASA has renamed it.
• The mission will now be called OSIRIS-APEX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security—Apophis Explorer) as it heads to study the near-Earth asteroid Apophis.

ABOUT OSIRIS-APEX

• Apophis
  • Asteroid 99942 Apophis is a near-Earth object (NEO) estimated to be about 1,100 feet (340 meters) across.
  • Apophis, a stony “S-type” asteroid composed of silicate materials and nickel-iron, differs significantly from the carbon-rich “C-type” Bennu.
  • Discovered- 2004
  • It originated in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
• The upcoming encounter with Earth on April 13, 2029, will bring Apophis within 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) of our planet.
• It aims to observe the physical changes induced by Earth’s gravitational pull during Apophis’ flyby.
  • These changes could include alterations in the asteroid’s orbit, rotation speed, and surface features such as quakes or landslides.

ABOUT OSIRIS-REX MISSION

• The OSIRIS-REx mission made headlines when it successfully returned a sample from asteroid Bennu to Earth on September 24.
• After a seven-year, 4 billion-mile odyssey, the spacecraft still had ample fuel and fully functional instruments.