Transcript for Bennu Orbit Insertion

[music]

TEXT ON SCREEN:

On December 3, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission arrived at its target: near-Earth asteroid Bennu.

JAVI CERNA:

We have arrived!

[applause]

TEXT ON SCREEN:

Now, OSIRIS-REx has completed its Preliminary Survey of Bennu.

KENNY GETZANDANNER:

Preliminary Survey is a series of maneuvers about two days apart, and consists of five hyperbolic flybys, so essentially a straight line relative to the asteroid.

And we do three of those over the northern hemisphere, we do one over the equator, and we do one under the southern hemisphere.

And that allows the scientists an opportunity to collect lots and lots of imaging data that aids in building shape models, and also eventually in sample site selection.

At the completion of Preliminary Survey, which is about three weeks, we’ll drift away from the asteroid, come back, and insert into orbit on December 31.

CORALIE ADAM:

What’s really groundbreaking about the navigation on this mission is the size of Bennu.

Bennu is the smallest object to ever be orbited by a spacecraft.

The gravity is so low that we can effectively maneuver all around the asteroid with very little fuel cost.

TEXT ON SCREEN:

After its initial orbital phase, OSIRIS-REx will conduct a Detailed Survey of Bennu, in preparation for collecting a sample and returning it to Earth in 2023.

[music]

[satellite beeping]