OSIRIS-APEX
OSIRIS-APEX — the extended mission of OSIRIS-REx. After delivering samples of asteroid Bennu to Earth in 2023, the spacecraft was redirected to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis following its close Earth flyby in 2029.
Key facts
Mission & specifications
Mission
- Operator
- NASA
- Launched
- September 8, 2016
- Status
- Active
Trajectory
- Current speed
- 24.5 km/s
- Distance from the Sun
- 1.24 AU
- Distance from Earth
- 0.476 AU
- Distance from Venus
- 0.589 AU
Mission
OSIRIS-APEX is the second life of a remarkable spacecraft. It began as OSIRIS-REx, NASA's first asteroid sample-return mission, launched on 8 September 2016 to the small, dark, carbon-rich asteroid Bennu. After arriving in 2018, the spacecraft spent two years surveying Bennu and, in a daring 2020 manoeuvre, briefly touched the surface, blasting it with nitrogen gas and catching the debris — gathering far more material than planned. In September 2023 it flew past Earth and dropped that sample capsule into the Utah desert, delivering pristine pieces of an asteroid that have since revealed organic molecules and the chemistry of the early Solar System. But the spacecraft itself still had fuel and working instruments, so NASA gave it a new mission and a new name: OSIRIS-APEX, the OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer. Its target is Apophis, an asteroid roughly 340 metres across that will make an extraordinarily close approach to Earth on 13 April 2029 — passing nearer than some satellites, close enough to be seen with the naked eye, though with no risk of impact. OSIRIS-APEX is on course to rendezvous with Apophis just after that flyby, to study how the close encounter with Earth's gravity reshapes the asteroid. The spacecraft is currently cruising through the inner Solar System toward its 2029 appointment.
- 2016Launch toward Bennu (as OSIRIS-REx)Launch
The spacecraft sets off on NASA's first asteroid sample-return mission.
- 2020Touch-and-go at BennuMilestone
OSIRIS-REx briefly touches Bennu and grabs a large sample of surface material.
- 2023Sample delivered; renamed OSIRIS-APEXMilestone
The capsule of Bennu material parachutes into the Utah desert; the still-healthy craft is sent on to Apophis.
- 2029Apophis's close Earth flybyFlyby
Asteroid Apophis passes closer than some satellites; OSIRIS-APEX is en route to meet it.
- 2029Rendezvous with Apophis (planned)Arrival
The spacecraft is planned to reach Apophis to study how Earth's gravity reshaped it.
Images
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