“Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer”- OSIRIS REx spacecraft

July 29, 2023

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, currently on a return journey from asteroid Bennu, has made a critical course adjustment by altering its velocity by a seemingly minuscule but crucial 2.09 kilometers per hour.
This change in speed and direction is vital for the spacecraft to get close enough to Earth to deliver its precious cargo.
This trajectory correction maneuver is the final major adjustment required to set up OSIRIS-REx for its Earth return on September 24, 2023.
- However, two more minor maneuvers are scheduled for September 10 and 17.
The ultimate goal is a precise landing at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City.
The OSIRIS-REx mission is the first US mission to collect a sample from an asteroid.
It was launched on Sept. 8, 2016.
It is presently 38 million km away from earth, hurtling through space at a staggering speed of about 22,000 miles per hour.