A NASA spacecraft that has just returned from space has been relaunched for a mission to study the “God of Chaos” asteroid as it begins to approach Earth’s orbit.
The agency’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft — now named OSIRIS-APEX — has been sent to study the extremely close flyby of asteroid Apophis in 2029, the likes of which “hasn’t happened since the beginning of recorded history,” NASA announced.
The spacecraft returned to Earth in September after spending seven years collecting samples from the Bennu space rock.
Apophis, also known as the “God of Chaos,” is expected to fly by Earth on April 13, 2029 from about 20,000 miles away — closer than some man-made satellites and even visible in the Eastern Hemisphere.
The rock, which measures about 370 yards, only approaches Earth every 7,500 years.
The company’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft – now named OSIRIS-APEX – returned to Earth this September after spending seven years collecting samples from the Bennu space rock. via REUTERS The rock, which measures about 370 yards, only approaches Earth every 7,500 years. NASA/JPL-Caltech
Earth’s gravity will affect the space rock as it approaches orbit, and OSIRIS-APEX will study that effect to see “how the surface changes,” according to Amy Simon, the mission’s project scientist.
Earth’s impact is expected to change the length of the asteroid’s day, which is currently around 30.6 hours per day. It can also cause the “God of Chaos” to experience landslides and earthquakes.
“We know that tidal forces and the accumulation of debris pile material are fundamental processes that can play a role in planet formation,” said Dani Mendoza DellaGiustina, principal investigator for OSIRIS-APEX at the University of Arizona in Tucson in a statement.
“They could inform how we got from debris in the early solar system to full planets.”
The spacecraft will encounter the S-type asteroid on April 13, 2029, but will not land on its surface, instead “operating in close proximity” to it for 18 months. Not only will it look at surface changes, but it will map the surface and analyze the rock’s chemical makeup, NASA said.
Apophis, pictured in 2021, is still five years away from Earth, but when it arrives in April 2029, it will come within 20,000 miles of Earth’s surface. NASA/JPL-Caltech and NSF/AUI/GBO
It will also be within 16 feet of the rock’s surface so it can fire its thrusters down to see what’s being stirred up, giving scientists a “peek at the material that lies beneath”.
Although the rock is still five years away from approaching Earth, scientists will observe it as it makes its first of six close passes to the sun.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
