IonStorm

On my social media history page this week. Thank you KSP.

Do you want 3D files of Bennu for yourself? How about the sampling site before and after it was thrashed by the spacecraft? Well they are all here for the taking. All with the highest resolution data in existence. How about global mosaics? Got those too. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5069

A potentially hazardous object would have a low ∆V from Earth for encounter. But it would still be a very challenging mission for humans.

Here's a little more detail: https://news.arizona.edu/story/nasa-gives-green-light-osiris-rex-spacecraft-visit-another-asteroid As you know, once you go through the tremendous effort to get something into space you should use it as much a you can. The spacecraft is healthy and has enough ∆V to do more science after the sample is delivered to Earth for study.

Here is the paper and the graphics from the teleconference.

On August 9 and 11, 2021, the video produced at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, will be featured in the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival Electronic Theater – a high honor for those in the graphic visualization field. Here is a making of, you might enjoy.

Hi, I got hooked from one of Scott Manley's KSP videos in 2011 since I was following him due to his wonderful asteroid orbit visualizations, though I'm a sloppy KSP player myself. @Jasonden is a deputy PI for Dragonfly and he plays KSP and is active on the forums. Brian May likes making stereo pairs. This one from two images at different times from the same camera was a challenge for him to make, but is informative https://www.asteroidmission.org/stereopair/ My PhD is in biochemistry, but I apply it to planetary science. I've never been to space but did have the amazing opportunity to briefly work with Kate Rubins on the DNA sequencer on the ISS and talk with Leland Melvin about research, but I didn't ask him about his dogs. Starting your journey to space research or technology at a young age is awesome.

It's just like landing at Kerbal Space Center, almost. Flight Dynamics must be using the Precise Node mod

There will be. The Sample Return Capsule (SRC) will land in the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR)/Dugway Proving Ground, which is part of a military base, so there are restrictions. We will be planning the public engagement events to determine how to best share the experience. Landing at UTTR is necessary as it is a very large open space with enormous restricted airspace and the best radar coverage in the world to enable tracking of the SRC and ensure that it doesn't accidentally cause injury or property damage when it lands. ' It will be similar to the landing of the Stardust SRC in 2006, except during daylight and with higher resolution cameras.

Here's the departure special. Yours truly appears 32 minutes in. With Bennu in the (figurative) rear-view mirror, it is time to rehearse the recovery and perfect our lab methods. Also, look to where to go with the fuel we have left after delivering the samples to Earth.

Awesome. I wasn't sure what time it would be out. These are tiny maneuvers. The smallest was 0.11 mm/s!

At the 4pm EDT nasa.gov/live broadcast today we will release the animation with ALL maneuvers around Bennu. #ToBennuaAndBack for questions on Instagram

Here it is. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/nasas-osiris-rex-leaves-its-mark-on-asteroid-bennu

The last flyover of the collection site happened this week. Early data is looking interesting. More to come soon.

Cheers for the rebalancing of the Cupola in 1.11. I recommend a simple adjustment so that the increased view permit a scientist to collect EVA reports when in a Cupola, much like can be done in an External Command Seat. Here is an old thread with similar idea.

The Planetary Society has named OSIRIS-REx “Planetary science mission of the year" and sample collection from Bennu “Most exciting planetary science moment” of 2020. Also congratulations to Juno, JWST, SpaceX, LightSail 2, and SimgDe for their wins.

Yes, that Brian May. He didn’t participate in person, but he has a passion for stereo images, so solving this problem was right up his alley. He also did Benben from approach images https://www.asteroidmission.org/bennus-boulder-1-stereo-pair-stereoscope-version/

Just before TAG both cameras could see the surface at the sampling spot at about the same resolution. Here is a stereo pair (left is SamCam and right is TAGCam with a the image of the sampling head artificially added to help make the 3D look better) constructed from this data by OSIRIS-REx collaborator Dr. Brian May on his Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/p/CHJ7EJPh8GF/ If you can't do the thing with your eyes, it works well on a phone with a VR headset or other stereo viewer.

For your viewing pleasure, the complete TAG movie from both cameras with their view footprints mapped on the sampling site https://www.asteroidmission.org/tag_cpe/

Debris is an unknown (and monitoring the rocks would be good science). But there are always risks with spacecraft component failures, some could result in a collision or loss of communication. Space is unforgiving, though OSIRIS-REx has performed impressively well, past performance is no guarantee of future results. The risk is low, but the consequences of total mission failure after success for an optional observation is not acceptable. The risk is heightened by the operations team being so tired and/or are being transferred to other projects. I would personally love to go back and look at the cool stuff, but the decision to stand down makes sense. I'm delighted to share with this community. You all make up a segment of the public with a greater understanding of and interest in spaceflight due to KSP, which is fun.

Cost and risk is the reason, nothing technical. The spacecraft returned to orbit after similar departures after the rehearsals. OSIRIS-REx is a cost capped mission. Every dollar spent in mission operations is a dollar that is not available for sample analysis. NASA strongly encourages fiscal restraint and discipline in avoiding cost growth and "science creep." The cost of the maneuver is not in ∆V, but in labor. It is several weeks of intensive planning to perform the delicate maneuvers to return the spacecraft to orbit. The team to do that work is exhausted. Furthermore, there is non-zero risk of damaging the spacecraft. At this point, any risk to the sample: the prime mission objective, is unacceptable. More lessons KSP doesn't teach.

The spacecraft isn’t much of a gravity tractor. It moved all over, so the forces didn’t add up much. We monitored the position for Yarkovsky measurements and the spacecraft impacts were below the limit of detection. As you indicate, though Bennu is small (7E+10kg) the spacecraft is much smaller (2E+3kg).

Yes. After the “large” 40cm/s burn to leave the TAG site, the spacecraft is still drifting away from Bennu.

It depends on the density you assume. A reasonable number is about 2kg. It would be nice to go back and look at the site. Lots to learn, but that comes at a cost: in both money and risk. With a collected sample, unfortunately it isn’t worth it. Two differences from KSP: no F9 and operating a spacecraft also takes funds.

There are a range of models and there is hope to be able to use some of arm motions to generate an estimate. The top priority was getting the sample safely stored. That done we can try to look at the data and refine the models. Though, since we will know for sure in three years and there is nothing we can do with the result other than improve our sample allocation and curation plans, it isn't clear that devoting a lot of engineering time for analysis is necessary now (though it would be interesting).