Tàu NASA sẽ ghé thăm tiểu hành tinh khổng lồ bay gần Trái đất

Tàu vũ trụ OSIRIS-REx của NASA sẽ khám phá một tiểu hành tinh khổng lồ có thể bay tới gần Trái đất hơn phần lớn vệ tinh địa tĩnh vào năm 2029.

NASA gia hạn nhiệm vụ OSIRIS-REx do Đại học Arizona phụ trách tiến hành và đổi tên thành OSIRIS-APEX. Nhiệm vụ mở rộng sẽ nghiên cứu tiểu hành tinh gần Trái đất Apophis trong 18 tháng. Apophis sẽ bay gần Trái đất năm 2029. Đại học Arizona sẽ chỉ đạo nhiệm vụ. 30 ngày sau khi vận chuyển mẫu vật thu thập từ tiểu hành tinh Bennu vào tháng 10/2020, tàu vũ trụ OSIRIS-REx sẽ thực hiện hoạt động điều chỉnh hướng bay về phía Apophis.

Simulation of spacecraft activation of thrusters near the surface of asteroid Apophis.

At that time, the team in charge of the task will split in two. The specimen analysis team, led by Planetary Science professor Dante Lauretta, will study soil samples from Bennu while the spacecraft and instrument fleet will move on to the OSIRIS-APEX (OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer) mission under the direction of Dr. Directed by assistant professor Dani DellaGiustina. The cost of the expansion mission is $200 million.

The mission team has been diligently searching for a potential asteroid target. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was built to approach celestial objects rather than just fly by, take pictures, and collect data quickly. According to DellaGiustina, Apophis is one of the most famous asteroids. When it was first discovered in 2004, researchers feared it could collide with Earth in 2029 when flying close. That risk is eliminated after recent observations. But Apophis will remain the closest large asteroid to Earth over the next 100 years. In a flyby in 2029, Apophis will come 31,000 kilometers from Earth, one-tenth the distance between our planet and the Moon, close enough for people in Europe and Africa to observe. by naked eye.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was launched in 2016 to collect samples from the asteroid Bennu, helping scientists learn about the formation of the solar system and Earth. OSIRIS-REx is NASA's first mission to collect and return samples from a near-Earth asteroid. Upon reaching Apophis, the spacecraft will study the asteroid for 18 months and collect samples by approaching the surface and activating the thrusters. This activity will expose the asteroid's soil near the surface, allowing scientists to study its physical properties.

The team also wanted to understand how Apophis is physically impacted by Earth's gravity during its 2029 flyby and the asteroid's composition. Apophis is about the same size as Bennu but different in spectral type. Bennu is a B-type asteroid associated with a carbon chondrite meteorite, and Apophis is an S-type asteroid associated with a common chondrite meteorite.