OSIRIS-REx, bringing back a bit of an asteroid
- DOEOSTI
The OSIRIS-REx mission will provide invaluable ground-truth validation for the computer models in a case study that set out to determine the timeframe within which we must launch either a kinetic impactor or a nuclear explosive carrier and develop a conceptual design for that spacecraft. From the on-asteroid data gathered when the spacecraft touches down and, eventually, from hands-on research here on Earth, we will get a reality check for what we think we know about Bennu’s material composition (boulders, chunks, and dust), shape, mass, density, and so on. Gravimetric data could reveal whether the asteroid is hollow. Back on Earth, researchers will run various tests on the material. We may have enough information to develop a theoretical equation of state. We could then compare it to its closest match in SESAME, the Los Alamos database of equations of state. Armed with that data, we will rerun the models to see how much each scenario changes. Comparing data from the touchdown and sample return to the earlier, remotely observed data from Bennu will help us calibrate remote observations of other objects in the future. Then we can more precisely model the effects of our deflection and disruption strategies and refine the spacecraft design.
- Research Organization:
- LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States))
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- OSTI ID:
- 1658807
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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