OSIRIS-REx

OSIRIS-APEX ('APophis EXplorer') is an ongoing mission (as of 2024). It is the extension of OSIRIS-REx, that was a NASA asteroid-study and sample-return mission.^[9] In 2023, the OSIRIS-REx mission was completed (or finished).

OSIRIS-REx
OSIRIS-APEX

Artist's rendering of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft
Names	OSIRIS-REx OSIRIS-APEX
Mission type	Asteroid sample return[1] and flyby of another asteroid
Operator	NASA / Lockheed Martin
COSPAR ID	2016-055A
SATCAT no.	41757
Website	asteroidmission.org
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Launch mass	2,110 kg (4,650 lb)[2]
Dry mass	880 kg (1,940 lb)[2]
Dimensions	2.44 × 2.44 × 3.15 m (8 ft 0 in × 8 ft 0 in × 10 ft 4 in)[2]
Power	1226 to 3000 W[2]
Start of mission
Launch date	8 September 2016, 23:05 UTC[3]
Rocket	Atlas V 411, AV-067[3]
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, SLC-41
Contractor	United Launch Alliance
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Bennu-centric
Altitude	0.68–2.1 km (0.42–1.30 mi)[4][5]
Period	22–62 hours[6][5]
Flyby of Earth
Closest approach	22 September 2017[2][7]
Distance	17,237 km (10,711 mi)[7]
Bennu orbiter
Orbital insertion	31 December 2018[8] (Rendezvous: 3 December 2018)
Orbital departure	3 March 2021 (planned)[2]
Sample mass	c. 121 g (4.29 oz)
Instruments OCAMS OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite OLA OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter OTES OSIRIS-REx Thermal Emission Spectrometer OVIRS OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer REXIS Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer TAGSAM Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism
OSIRIS-REx mission logo New Frontiers program ← Juno Dragonfly →

Acronym: OSIRIS-REx stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer.

The mission from 2016 to 2023

The OSIRIS-REx mission collected samples from 101955 Bennu, a carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid, and returned the samples to earth in September 2023.^[10]

The material returned is expected to enable scientists to learn more about the formation and evolution of the Solar System, its initial stages of planet formation, and the source of organic compounds that led to the formation of life on Earth.^[11]

The mission was completed, when the Sample Return Capsule was recovered.

Landing date: Sample Return Capsule: September 24, 2023

Landing site of capsule: Utah Test and Training Range

OSIRIS-REx is the first United States spacecraft to return samples from an asteroid.

OSIRIS-APEX

After dropping off its sample to Earth on 24 September 2023, the mission OSIRIS-REx became OSIRIS-APEX ('APophis EXplorer').

In 2029, the spacecraft is supposed to start observations of (Apophis or) 99942 Apophis.

Mission duration

Counting the years and months of the first and second missions: 8 years, 11 months, 8 days (elapsed)

The first mission: 7 years (planned)
889 days at asteroid (actual)