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Almost zero gravity! The NASA spacecraft successfully encloses the aerodynamic Benu – Science Quest – cnBeta.COM

NASA, an asteroid to take samples from the spacecraft OSIRIS-Rex (a detector for identifying the source to identify the source of the source spectrum), began flying around the target asteroid, setting a new record for the smallest celestial spacecraft around the spacecraft.from

At 2:43 am EST on Dec. 31 (3:43 pm on January 1, in Beijing, time), the OSIRIS-Rex engine fired 8 seconds and began to enter the Earth's asteroid Bennu, which is about 500 meters in diameter. Song.


Osiris-Rex spacecraft schematic charts around orbit of Bennu

Dante Lauretta, chief researcher at OSIRIS-REx at the University of Arizona, said in a statement: "The team perfectly completed the operation to enter the track and continue the previous glory. Entry into the Bennu trail is incredible Achievements, our team is preparing for that several years . "


OSIRIS-Rex officially arrived in Bennu on December 3, 2018. In the past 4 weeks, the task team conducted various measurements of Bennu, determined its quality, and drew detailed maps.

Heather Enos, deputy chief researcher of OSIRIS-Rex, told the media earlier in December that these measurements must be completed before attempting to enter Bennu because "around a heavenly body with little gravity is a very challenging task. Therefore, we must we get more information to complete the next mission. "


Earlier, the smallest object around the spacecraft was a 67-foot comet of 2.5 kilometers (4.1 km), and the space shuttle Rosetta from the Space of the European Space Agency flew around it between 2014 and 2016.

OSIRIS-Rex also set a record, with the lowest orbit around small celestial bodies. The members of the working group say that OSIRIS-Rex's summer orbit is only 1.6 kilometers from the surface of Bennu.

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