All articles tagged with #dante lauretta
Dante Lauretta, the planetary scientist who led the OSIRIS-REx mission to retrieve space dust from asteroid Bennu, discusses the mission's impact and his activities post-sample retrieval. He describes the challenges faced during the disassembly of the asteroid sample collector and the significance of studying the material for astrobiology and the origins of life.
An asteroid larger than the Empire State Building, named 101955 Bennu, is on a potential collision course with Earth, prompting Nasa to take action. Nasa has hired Dante Lauretta to lead a mission to research, chart, and sample the asteroid, which could cause catastrophic damage upon impact. The OSIRIS-REx mission has already returned a sample of Bennu to Earth, and Nasa is also developing technology for planetary defense, including the upcoming Dart mission.
NASA allocated $1 billion to Dante Lauretta to lead the OSIRIS-REx mission, aimed at preventing a potential asteroid collision with Earth by studying and retrieving a sample from asteroid Bennu. The mission represents a monumental achievement in space exploration, offering insights into planetary defense strategies and the early solar system's formation and evolution. The successful engagement with Bennu opens new avenues for research and highlights humanity's growing capabilities to confront potential threats from space, safeguarding the future of our planet and species.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission successfully returned asteroid samples to Earth, but not without moments of high drama. During the landing, a parachute malfunction occurred when the drogue chute failed to deploy at the expected time. However, the main parachute eventually opened, leading to a safe landing in the Utah desert. An investigation revealed that the parachute deployment actions occurred out of order due to a miscommunication in the design plans. Despite the mishap, scientists are analyzing the asteroid materials, which have shown promising signs of carbon and water content.