[music]
On December 3, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission arrived at
its target: near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
We have arrived!
[applause]
Now, OSIRIS-REx has completed its Preliminary Survey
of Bennu.
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.
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.
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]