An Addition To Our Space Rock Collection
An Addition to our Space Rock Collection
On October 20th, our OSIRIS-REx mission will make its first attempt to collect and retrieve a sample of asteroid Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid. On sample collection day, Bennu will be over 200 million miles away from Earth.
Asteroids are the building blocks of our solar system. A sample of this ancient material can tell us about the history of our planet and the origins of life. Science results published from the mission on October 8th confirm that Bennu contains carbon in a form often found in biology or in compounds associated with biology.
To collect a sample, OSIRIS-REx will attempt a method NASA has never used before – called Touch-And-Go (TAG). First, the spacecraft extends its robotic sampling arm, the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) – from its folded storage position. The spacecraft’s two solar panels then move into a “Y-wing” configuration over the spacecraft’s body, which positions them safely up and away from the asteroid’s surface during touch down. This configuration also places the spacecraft’s center of gravity directly over the TAGSAM collector head, which is the only part of the spacecraft that will contact Bennu’s surface.
Finding a safe sample collection site on Bennu’s rocky landscape was a challenge. During the sampling event, the spacecraft, which is the size of a large van, will attempt to touch down in an area that is only the size of a few parking spaces, and just a few steps away from enormous boulders.
The spacecraft will only make contact with Bennu for a matter of seconds - just long enough to blow nitrogen gas onto the surface to roil up dust and small pebbles, which will then be captured for a return to Earth.
We need to conduct a few tests before we can confirm we collected a large enough sample (about 2 oz). First, OSIRIS-REx will take images of the collector head to see if it contains rocks and dust. Second, the spacecraft will spin with the TAGSAM extended to determine the mass of collected material. If these measures show a successful collection, we will stow the sample for return to Earth. If sufficient sample has not been collected, the spacecraft has onboard nitrogen charges for two more attempts. The next TAG attempt would be made no earlier than January 2021.
Despite the many challenges, the OSIRIS-REx team is ready. They’ve practiced and prepared for this moment.
Join in with #ToBennuAndBack and tune in on October 20th.
Learn more about the OSIRIS-REx countdown to TAG HERE.
Learn more about the OSIRIS-REx mission HERE, or follow the mission on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
More Posts from Passkale and Others
majeczkyphoto
/ Movements /
North Lake Tahoe, night and day and fog
U.S. Public Health Service, 1942. NARA ID 514791.
Mask Mandates are ALL AMERICAN!*
"What is Past is Prologue."** This is not the first time Americans have been instructed to wear masks to stay safe. Check out these WW2 posters and see how gov't communicators tried to interest/educate/inform (and sometimes scare) the American public!
TAKE CARE OF YOUR MASK... OR ELSE! NARA ID 514846.
MASK TIPS FOR GLAMOROUS WOMEN! NARA ID 44266530.
BE PREPARED! NARA ID 44266634.
YOUR MASK IS NOT A PILLOW or KNAPSACK! NARA IDs 514038 and 514110.
STAY FIT! WEAR A MASK! NARA ID 535277.
*Speaking of All American, stay tuned for our upcoming exhibit: ALL AMERICAN: The Power of Sports.
**'Future' statue by Robert Aiken. Photo by Jeff Reed.
Step into one of the nation’s top art museums, and most of the works you’ll see were made by men.
The Baltimore Museum of Art has decided to make a bold step to correct that imbalance: next year, the museum will only purchase works made by female-identifying artists.
“This how you raise awareness and shift the identity of an institution,” museum director Christopher Bedford told The Baltimore Sun. “You don’t just purchase one painting by a female artist of color and hang it on the wall next to a painting by Mark Rothko. To rectify centuries of imbalance, you have to do something radical.”
The policy will only apply to works purchased by the museum, not gifts. The number of works purchased by the museum each year varies, and works are bought on a rolling basis.
The move is part of a larger initiative launched in October called 2020 Vision, a series of 22 exhibits at the museum celebrating female-identifying artists. The initiative includes 13 solo exhibitions and seven thematic shows, with more being planned. Next year marks a century since women were guaranteed the right to vote in the United States, with the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
The Baltimore Museum of Art has 95,000 works, including the world’s largest collection of works by Henri Matisse.
Its collections include 3,800 works by women artists and designers – just 4% of its holdings.
Baltimore Museum Of Art Will Only Buy Works By Women Next Year
Image: The Baltimore Museum of Art Caption: The Baltimore Museum of Art will only buy works by women next year, as part of a yearlong series exhibiting art by women. Amy Sherald’s Planes, rockets, and the spaces in between (2018) is among the 3,800 works by women in the museum’s collection
TASC Doesn’t React; We Respond We are in the midst of an unprecedented situation with global scope and an uncertain end. Despite these trying times, TASC is open for business. Here… TASC Doesn’t React; We Respond
Scott Wheeler was born and raised in what’s known as the Northeast Kingdom, the rugged and beautiful countryside where Vermont abuts Canada. Even so, he didn’t realize he was supposed to check in with Canadian immigration authorities when driving across the border recently.
Two polite, officious Mounties tell him to make a U-turn and follow them back to the port of entry where he’s questioned about his intentions inside Quebec. He explains his mistake, and eventually, the Mounties return his identification and he’s free to go.
“That’s pretty much life on the border; it’s changing,” Wheeler says, resignedly.
While the southern border gets all the attention with President Trump’s massive wall and the backlog of desperate asylum-seekers stuck in Mexico, things are tense on the northern border with Canada, as well. The number of illegal crossers is on the rise. And residents complain that heightened security has changed the character of the once-neighborly frontier.
“It’s even confusing for a local to understand,” says Wheeler, a former state representative and history buff who publishes the Northland Journal. “Back when I was growing up, you could come across the border with a wave to the border agents.”
“It’s a barrier, and we feel it”
In the past two fiscal years, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has logged a 400% jump in apprehensions of people crossing illegally from Canada. That’s the biggest increase anywhere along the 5,525-mile northern border.
Border authorities made it harder to cross freely after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but things have gotten even stricter since President Trump took office.
Consider Canusa Avenue — the name is a hybrid of Canada and USA. The international boundary runs for a third of a mile along this street. This is where Wheeler inadvertently turned into Canada.
There are 14 houses, with Americans living on the south side of the street and Canadians on the north. Two residents recently met on their respective sides of the white boundary line.
“We cannot leave our street on our own free will,” says Janice Beadle, who describes herself as a retired snack bar owner, dairy worker and maple syrup maker.
U.S.-Canada Border Community’s Culture Changes As Security Tightens
Photos: Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist for NPR
-
tristapena777 liked this · 2 years ago
