The Asteroid Hunter: A Scientist’s Journey to the Dawn of our Solar System Hardcover – March 19, 2024 by Dante Lauretta (Author) Title: Bennu's Unexpected Challenges Author: Dante Lauretta
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The Asteroid Hunter: A Scientist’s Journey to the Dawn of our Solar System Hardcover – March 19, 2024 by Dante Lauretta (Author) Title: Bennu's Unexpected Challenges Author: Dante Lauretta After a successful launch in summer 2016, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft approached its target, Bennu. Pre-arrival telescopic data from the Arecibo planetary radar system and the Spitzer Space Telescope suggested Bennu's surface would be "beach-like" with particles smaller than an inch. However, upon arrival, the team discovered a rough, rugged, and boulder-strewn surface, like a "great big gravel pile," making it difficult to find a safe, flat landing site with small particles. Bennu also exhibited unexpected "popcorn" activity, continuously ejecting particles due to its microgravity. Despite carefully selecting the Nightingale landing site, the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) unexpectedly plunged into the fluid-like surface, overfilling and causing the collected sample to leak. 1954
