OSIRIS-REx mission Archives - News@91��ɫ

Asteroid now most surveyed in solar system, thanks to a Canadian laser instrument

egamulin — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 19:13:01 +0000

Prof. Mike Daly, who led the instrument science team, available for interviews before and after historic NASA OSIRIS-REx mission drop this weekend

Professor Mike Daly, who led the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter science team, is excited for what surprises are contained in the asteroid sample that will be parachuted to a desert in Utah on Sunday.

TORONTO, Sept. 21, 2023 - The much-anticipated arrival of the Bennu asteroid sample to Earth means researchers across Canada and the world will be able to study it to better learn about the origins of the solar system, thanks in part to work led by a 91��ɫ professor at the . This Sunday morning, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx plans to make that brief, but key pit stop back to earth’s orbit to parachute a package to the Utah desert, and , 91��ɫ Research Chair in Planetary Science with the couldn’t be more excited.

“We get most of our information from asteroids by meteorites that fall to earth and then we try to figure out where they came from,” says Daly, who led theOSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA) science team for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). “We have few meteorites that look similar to Bennu and a unique aspect is just how pristine this sample is. We don’t know what we will find, and now we have the opportunity to study material that just may never make it to Earth.”

From helping get the spacecraft to the surface of Bennu, to choosing a sampling site, to collecting the data used to create the shape-model of Bennu, OLA contributed to the OSIRIS-REx mission in a number of key ways, says Daly, adding that Bennu is now the most highly surveyed body in the solar system.

“This is the most accurate shape-model of an asteroid ever, the level of detail is unbelievable,” he says. “Almost three-billion measurements were taken to create a model representation of Bennu.”

Daly, an expert in planetary exploration, simulation and space flight instrumentation, first started working on the concept back in 2008, while working for his previous employer. MDA carried out the building of the technology for the CSA when he moved to his role at 91��ɫ, but he continued to be the scientific lead on the project.

From among the more than half a million known asteroids in existence, Bennu was chosen for its proximity to Earth, size, mineralogy, and other key features, but the orbiting matter around it and rough exterior of the terrain still came as a surprise when OSIRIS-REx arrived at Bennu in 2018 and spent the next couple of years collecting information. Contacting the asteroid to take its sample and finding the surface to be relatively soft was another revelation.

The spacecraft was able to extract an estimated 250 grams of matter, which, once it arrives in Utah and is shipped to Houston to be opened, will be further studied, with 91��ɫ looking specifically at the microthermal properties of Bennu. Due to the Canadian contribution to the mission, four per cent of the sample will be held in Canada for future research.

Asteroids are leftovers from the formation of the solar system, so the information contained in the Bennu sample will help scientists glean information about the early days of the solar system.

Other 91��ɫ researchers involved in the project include Jeff Seabrook, who was the deputy instrument scientist and James Freemantle, who provided project management for Canadian researchers. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab were close partners in analyzing the data.

While the Bennu sample will stay on Earth, the spacecraft will continue back through space where it is planned to take measurements of another asteroid, Apophis. While Daly describes Bennu as a “well-behaved” asteroid due to its relatively steady spin on one rotational axis, Apophis will prove more challenging to capture, due to its tumbling nature. Whatever they discover next, Daly is sure it will be yet another source of amazement.

“It really takes me back to my childhood, you know, watching astronauts land on the Moon and watching Viking land on Mars,” he says. “I have a strange job where I’ve had the privilege of seeing a couple of missions that I had some significant responsibilities for and that part of the job I really love. Even from the initial images before we start working on it, it’s always cool and interesting and you think ‘No one has seen it like this before’.”

While Daly will be in the U.S. as part of the CSA team for the return mission, in the Earth Rangers Studio on Sunday, Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will be open to the public with the cost of admission to the ROM.

Daly will be available for interviews ahead of the launch and in Houston until Sept. 29.

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OSIRIS-REx mission attempting to get sample from Bennu: 91��ɫ U expert and member of mission science team available to comment

roshanp — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 13:15:33 +0000

OSIRIS-REx mission attempting to get sample from Bennu today: 91��ɫ U expert and member of mission science team available to comment

TORONTO, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020 –��Today, after years of studying the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, the OSIRIS-REx mission will make its first attempt to collect and retrieve a sample from its surface. The mission will use a robotic arm and novel sampling device to collect the sample, more than 200 million miles from Earth, in a Touch-And-Go (TAG) by the NASA spacecraft.

Professor Michael Daly, director of 91��ɫ’s Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science (), led the development of the OSIRIS-REx laser altimeter (OLA), which has provided unprecedented topographical measurements of Bennu. This data was instrumental in the selection of a sampling site and navigation of the spacecraft to the surface of Bennu.

A professor in 91��ɫ’s Lassonde School of Engineering, Daly is a member of the international team that will receive the Bennu sample on Earth in 2023 for scientific analysis. Through an agreement between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency, Canada will receive four per cent of the pristine sample for future analysis and curation.

Scientists hope the sample will help them to better understand the origins of life and the dynamics of our solar system.

“The sample is a first for NASA and also for the Canadian Space Agency,” says Daly. “It is the culmination of an already successful mission and it will be studied by scientists for decades to come.”

Professor Michael Daly is available for interviews about the role of the laser altimeter data and what he hopes to learn as a member of the team that will be analyzing the sample.

NASA’s coverage begins at 5pmET. Follow for more info.

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