This image shows the wide variety of boulder shapes, sizes and compositions found on asteroid Bennu. It was taken by the PolyCam camera on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on March 28 from a distance of 2.1 miles (3.4 km). The field of view is 162.7 ft (49.6 m). For scale, the large, light-colored boulder at the top of the image is 15.7 ft (4.8 m) tall. Image Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to the asteroid Bennu needs extra pairs of eyes to help choose its sample collection site on the asteroid – and to look for anything else that might be scientifically interesting.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has been at Bennu since December 3, 2018, mapping the asteroid in detail, while the mission team searches for a sample collection site that is safe, conducive to sample collection and worthy of closer study. One of the biggest challenges of this effort, which the team discovered after arriving at the asteroid five months ago, is that Bennu has an extremely rocky surface and each boulder presents a danger to the spacecraft’s safety. To expedite the sample selection process, the team is asking citizen scientist volunteers to develop a hazard map by counting boulders.
“For the safety of the spacecraft, the mission team needs a
comprehensive catalog of all the boulders near the potential sample
collection sites, and I invite members of the public to assist the
OSIRIS-REx mission team in accomplishing this essential task,” said
Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of
Arizona, Tucson.
For this effort, NASA is partnering with CosmoQuest, a project run out of the Planetary Science Institute that supports citizen science initiatives. Volunteers will perform the same tasks that planetary scientists do – measuring Bennu’s boulders and mapping its rocks and craters – through the use of a simple web interface. They will also mark other scientifically interesting features on the asteroid for further investigation.
The boulder mapping work involves a high degree of precision, but it
is not difficult. The CosmoQuest mapping app requires a computer with a
larger screen and a mouse or trackpad capable of making precise marks.
To help volunteers get started, the CosmoQuest team provides an
interactive tutorial, as well as additional user assistance through a
Discord community and livestreaming sessions on Twitch.
“We are very pleased and excited to make OSIRIS-REx images available
for this important citizen science endeavor,” said Rich Burns,
OSIRIS-REx project manager at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. “Bennu
has surprised us with an abundance of boulders. We ask for citizen
scientists’ help to evaluate this rugged terrain so that we can keep our
spacecraft safe during sample collection operations.”
Sample return isn’t new for NASA – this year, the agency is
celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo missions to the Moon,
which allowed astronauts to bring back 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of
rocks and lunar soil. Those samples helped scientists discover that the
Moon has water locked in its rocks and even permanently frozen in
craters. These findings and others inspired the agency to create the
Artemis program to return humans to the Moon by 2024 and start preparing for human exploration on Mars.
“The OSIRIS-REx mission will continue the Apollo legacy by giving
scientists precious samples of an asteroid,” said Lori Glaze, director
of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“These samples will help scientists discover the secrets of planetary
formation and the origins of our planet Earth.”
The Bennu mapping campaign continues through July 10, when the
mission begins the sample site selection process. Once primary and
secondary sites are selected, the spacecraft will begin closer
reconnaissance to map the two sites to sub-centimeter resolution. The
mission’s Touch-and-Go (TAG) sampling maneuver is scheduled for July
2020, and the spacecraft will return to Earth with its cargo in
September 2023.
Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and
the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the
University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator, and the
University of Arizona also leads the science team and the mission’s
science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space
in Denver built the spacecraft and is providing flight operations.
Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the
OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New
Frontiers Program, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission
Directorate in Washington.
To volunteer as a Bennu mapper, visit:
Bennu.cosmoquest.org
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