NASA is hosting a media teleconference at 3 p.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 20, to provide an update on the agency’s first attempt to contact the surface of asteroid Bennu and collect a sample.
The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will travel to the asteroid’s surface during its first sample collection attempt Oct. 20. Its sampling mechanism will touch Bennu’s surface for several seconds, fire a charge of pressurized nitrogen to disturb the surface, and collect a sample before the spacecraft backs away.
Participating in this mission update are: • Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate • Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division • Heather Enos, OSIRIS-REx deputy principal investigator, University of Arizona, Tucson • Kenneth Getzandanner, OSIRIS-REx flight dynamics manager, Goddard • Beth Buck, OSIRIS-REx mission operations program manager, Lockheed Martin Space, Littleton, Colorado