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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Osiris-Rex Post-Tag Observation Trajectory Design and Navigation Performance

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully collected a sample of asteroid regolith from the surface of near-Earth asteroid Bennu in October of 2020. Subsequent imaging of the sampler head showed material leaking from the collection mechanism, thus stowage of the sample precluded execution of any planned maneuvers in the following days. Optical navigation imaging also ceased in the days following sample collection. The desire to image the sample site to investigate the results of the spacecraft-to-surface interaction led to the Navigation team designing a trajectory to return to Bennu after several months in order to image the surface one final time. After several iterations a trajectory design was created that satisfied the numerous constraints that were levied in order to place utmost importance on the safety of the spacecraft and stowed sample, while also closely emulating previously obtained imaging conditions to provide a close comparison of site pre- and post-contact. Significant analysis was necessary in order to reliably reacquire the asteroid after several months without optical navigation imagery. The final design required five maneuvers to return the spacecraft to Bennu and perform a final flyby of the asteroid at a distance of 3.8 kilometers. Successful execution of the phase provided key insights regarding the performance of the sample collection activities and the subsurface composition of the asteroid.

Daniel R Wibben↗

NASA NTRS2020

Osiris-Rex Shape Model Performance During the Navigation Campaign

The Navigation Campaign of the OSIRIS-REx mission began when the first image of Bennu was recorded by the PolyCam high-resolution imager on Au-gust 17, 2018. In the ensuing months, two teams began building shape models based on imagery taken during the Approach and Preliminary survey phases to be used for the transition to landmark navigation in the Orbital A phase. The orbit determination team began analyzing and characterizing the performance and errors associated with each shape model delivery working closely to iterate on the next shape model delivery. By the end of Orbital A, shape models produced by the Altimetry Working Group and JPL exceeded pre-launch performance re-quirements. This paper provides a summary of the analysis performed during operations.

Leonard, Jason M.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Comparing Pre-Launch Assumptions to In-Flight Navigation Performance of OSIRIS-REx

The Sample Return Capsule (SRC) onboard the NASA Origins, Spectral Inter-pretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx)spacecraft is currently carrying samples of the B-type asteroid Bennu for safe re-turn to Earth at the Utah Test and Training Range on September 24, 2023. These samples were collected during the Touch And Go (TAG) sampling event on October 20, 2020, when the spacecraft contacted the surface for a few seconds at a location less than 1 meter from the target. The unprecedented navigation performance achieved during that event was the culmination of experience gained during two years of cruise and two years of increasingly challenging operation sat Bennu. As we had hoped, the proximity navigation performance at Bennu exceeded pre-launch analysis. This paper will compare the navigation performance through the proximity operation phases to our pre-launch analysis and will quantify how refinements of the small force models governing the spacecraft motion near Bennu considerably improved the down-track state predictions leading up to the successful TAG event. It was evident to the team and to expert peer reviewers during the design phase that exquisite model fidelity and aggressive operational concepts, which challenged and advanced the state of the art for deep space proximity operations, would be required to meet the mission’s objectives. This paper summarizes the superlative achievements of the team in rising to and overcoming these challenges.

Peter G Antresian↗

NASA NTRS2022

Cross‐Instrument Comparison of MapCam and OVIRS on OSIRIS‐REx

Two of the instruments onboard the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, the MapCam color imager and the OVIRS visible and 20 infrared spectrometer, observed the surface of asteroid (101955) Bennu in partially overlapping wavelengths. 21 Significant scientific advances have been enabled by using data from these two instruments in tandem, but a robust 22 statistical understanding of their relationship is needed for future analyses to cross-compare their data as accurately 23 and sensitively as possible. Here we present a cross-instrument comparison of data acquired by MapCam and 24 OVIRS, including methods and results for all global and site-specific observation campaigns in which both 25 instruments were active. In our analysis, we consider both the absolute radiometric offset and the relative 26 (normalized) variation between the two instruments; we find that both depend strongly on the photometric and 27 instrumental conditions during the observation. The two instruments have a large absolute offset (>15%) due to their 28 independent radiometric calibrations. However, they are very consistent (relative offset as low as 1%) when each 29 instrument’s response is normalized at a single wavelength, particularly at low phase angles where shadows on 30 Bennu’s rough surface are minimized. We recommend using the global datasets acquired at 12:30 pm local solar 31 time for cross-comparisons; data acquired at higher phase angles have larger uncertainties.

D R Golish↗

NASA NTRS2022

Assessing the Sampleability of Bennu’s Surface for the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission

NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx, collected a sample from the surface of near-Earth asteroid Bennu in October 2020 and will deliver it to Earth in September 2023. Selecting a sample collection site on Bennu’s surface was challenging due to the surprising lack of large ponded deposits of regolith particles exclusively fine enough (≤ 2 cm diameter) to be ingested by the spacecraft’s Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM). Here we describe the Sampleability Map of Bennu, which was constructed to aid in the selection of candidate sampling sites and to estimate the probability of collecting sufficient sample. “Sampleability” is a numeric score that expresses the compatibility of a given area’s surface properties with the sampling mechanism. The algorithm that determines sampleability is a best fit functional form to an extensive suite of laboratory testing outcomes tracking the TAGSAM performance as a function of four observable properties of the target asteroid. The algorithm and testing were designed to measure and subsequently predict TAGSAM collection amounts as a function of the minimum particle size, maximum particle size, particle size frequency distribution, and the tilt of the TAGSAM head off the surface. The sampleability algorithm operated at two general scales, consistent with the resolution and coverage of data collected during the mission. The first scale was global and evaluated nearly the full surface. Due to Bennu’s unexpected boulder coverage and lack of ponded regolith deposits, the global sampleability efforts relied heavily on additional strategies to find and characterize regions of interest based on quantifying and avoiding areas heavily covered by material too large to be collected. The second scale was site-specific and used higher-resolution data to predict collected mass at a given contact location. The rigorous sampleability assessments gave the mission confidence to select the best possible sample collection site and directly enabled successful collection of hundreds of grams of material.

Asteroid exploration↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Operational Performance of Limb-Based Navigation from Osiris-Rex at Bennu

During approach to an unvisited body, particularly small primitive bodies, much time is spent characterizing the target and learning how to navigate with respect to it. The primary means of navigating with respect to these bodies typically involves some form of optical navigation (OpNav), where observables are extracted from images of the target and fed to a navigation filter to refine the relative position and velocity between the spacecraft and the target. We demonstrate the performance of a recently developed, limb-based OpNav technique for the approach time period by applying it to flight data from the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft’s approach to asteroid Bennu.

Andrew J. Liounis↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

On-Orbit Cross Calibration Between the Osiris-Rex Orbiting Laser Altimeter and Navigation Camera

Accurate shape models of small bodies provide both science value and resources for precision relative navigation. One instrument commonly used for generating shape models is the laser altimeter. Laser altimeters require accurate intrinsic and extrinsic calibration knowledge to produce accurate shape models. Here, we describe a method used for updating the intrinsic and extrinsic calibration parameters of the laser altimeter onboard the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft, OLA (OSIRISREx Laser Altimeter). We perform the calibration update by comparing the OLA scans with monocular camera images of the asteroid surface captured by the primary navigation camera.

Andrew J. Liounis↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Contamination monitoring of the OSIRIS-REx ISO5 asteroid sample cleanroom

The OSIRIS-REx mission to asteroid Bennu successfully collected hundreds of grams of asteroid regolith in October 2020 [1]. The spacecraft departed Bennu in May 2021 for Earth return and will release the sample canister to be recovered in Utah in September 2023 [2]. Samples will be transported to the curation facility at NASA Johnson Space Center, where an ISO5 equivalent cleanroom has been designed in 2017 and completed in 2021. Aspects of the design and material selection for the cleanroom and its supporting facilities (air handling system, cleanroom floors and walls, filters, paints, etc.) were optimized to minimize effects of organic and inorganic contaminants and offgassing [3]. Since its completion, the lab has been carefully monitored to understand and establish a baseline with respect to multiple environmental aspects – measurement of particle counts, deploying Si wafer witness plates for organic and inorganic contaminants, deploying aluminum foils for a focus on organics with JSC in-house expertise, gas samples, and regular microbial and fungal measurements on selected surfaces and air samples in the cleanroom. This contribution will report on nearly one year of monitoring and highlight several specific aspects that have led to a better understanding of the new cleanroom environment.

carbonaceous asteroid↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Simulations of OSIRIS-REx Atmospheric Entry for Comparisons with Data from the Imaging Campaign

Results from pre-flight flow and radiation simulations for the OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule along a candidate entry trajectory are presented. These results are from pre-flight simulations in support of the observation campaign. Details of the methodology for computing temporal variation of spectral irradiance on an instrument onboard an aerial observation platform are presented along with a sampling of results. An attempt is made to use the methodology presented to assess the level of elemental sodium in the shock layer. The final paper will be based on the actual flight trajectory and will include comparisons of predictions with calibrated spectrometric data.

Spectrometric Imaging↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lessons Learned From the Construction of a Portable Cleanroom for NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission Deintegration

NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Infrastructure and Astromaterials Acquisition & Curation Office completed construction and commissioning of the OSIRIS-REx (OREx) Deintegration portable cleanroom at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). The new portable cleanroom was designed to receive the OREx sample return capsule from the landing point on the range to an ISO7 environment. Scientists used the portable clean-room to deintegrate the sample canister from the sample return capsule. Once separated, the sample canister was put in a container under nitrogen purge for transportation to B31 at the Johnson Space Center for astromaterial sample extraction, preliminary analysis, and long-term curation. The portable cleanroom was built by a subcontractor at their facility and then deconstructed to be transported to the remote location at UTTR. Since construction was completed in a remote location all tools and materials had to be transported from contractor site in Dallas, TX. The cleanroom was constructed within an existing facility, which provided conditioned air, electric power, and protection from the elements. Careful coordination was required between the host facility, cleanroom contractor, mission scientists, and JSC facilities and curation personnel. An existing anteroom at JSC was transported to UTTR and added to the portable cleanroom after there was concern about contamination without one for personnel entry/exit. The scientific study of organics is critical for the mission, so a stringent contamination control plan was implemented for low organics. Given these mission requirements the cleanroom construction materials were carefully selected to not hinder the scientific search for amino acids and the study of organics in the samples. The same cleanroom contractor that built the long-term astromaterial curation cleanroom back at JSC Houston, TX was selected to build the portable cleanroom and instructed to use the same materials. The cleanroom had double doors to open and allow the sample return capsule to fit into the cleanroom on its stand and be transferred to a clean stand already in the cleanroom. The portable cleanroom successfully completed its mission and the sample canister was safely deintegrated and transported to JSC under nitrogen purge.

astromaterials curation↗

NASA NTRS2024

Nanoscale Mineralogy of Bennu Samples Returned by OSIRIS-REx

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft returned regolith samples from asteroid Bennu and an initial sample was allocated for quick-look (QL) analyses. These QL particles were recovered from the avionics deck of the sample canister and were used to test the hypothesis that this dust is broadly representative of the bulk sample. The QL sample analyses showed that the materials are dominated by hydrated silicates, sulfides, magnetite, phosphates, and abundant organic matter, in addition to other minor/trace phases. Here we report our preliminary transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations for the nanoscale mineralogy of Bennu samples.

L P Keller↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Space Weathering in OSIRIS-REx Samples From Bennu: Impact Melt Deposits

Early analyses of regolith samples from asteroid Bennu delivered by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft showed a mineralogy dominated by hydrated silicates, sulfides, magnetite, phosphates, and abundant organic matter, in addition to other minor/trace phases. A major objective of the sample analysis campaign is to understand the nature and extent of space weathering processes recorded by returned samples from Bennu. Here we report our preliminary transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations of impact melt deposits on surfaces of Bennu sample particles.

L. P. Keller↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Entry, Descent, and Landing Analysis for the OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) sample return capsule (SRC) returned to Earth on September 24, 2023, safely landing in the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). To ensure a safe and successful landing, a pair of high-fidelity EDL simulations, based on the Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (POST) architecture, were used to regularly assess the latest orbit determination (OD) solution from the navigation team, making predictions on Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) performance and SRC landing location. The results from these analyses fed into the decision processes for the final trajectory correction maneuvers (TCM’s) and SRC release. The models and methods of analysis will be discussed and a comparison of the final pre-entry landing prediction against the observed landing location will be presented along with an assessment of the best estimates of day-of-entry environmental conditions.

Scott R Francis↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

OSIRIS-REx Earth Return & Entry: Navigation Operations & Lessons Learned

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft successfully returned to Earth on September24, 2024, safely delivering its Sample Return Capsule (SRC) to the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). This paper describes the navigation operations that occurred between the departure from Bennu and the return of the SRC. An overview is given of the Flight Dynamics System (FDS) that includes tracking, orbit determination (OD), maneuver planning, and interfaces with entry, descent, and landing. Operational details on the SRC release criteria and conjunction assessment considerations are also provided. Lessons learned are presented that may help future sample return or interplanetary entry missions.

Kenneth M. Getzandanner↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

OSIRIS-REx: Curating Samples from the Carbon rich Asteroid Bennu

The OSIRIS REx mission returned 121 g of pristine material from the asteroid Bennu. This talk will describe the how the sample was collected, returned to earth, retrieved, and how it is currently being curated at the NASA Johnson Space Center. In order to keep the samples pristine they are kept under an ultra pure nitrogen atomosphere inside and ISO 5 equivalent clean room. Special care is taken not to expose the samples to oxygen, or organic contaminants. NASA has implemented additional procedures to minimize the likelihood of biological contamination. The presentation will also include a brief description of the preliminary results from initial study of the samples.

Aaron B. Regberg↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Surface Exposure History of Asteroid Bennu Based on Cosmogenic Radionuclides in OSIRIS-Rex Samples

The surface of asteroid Bennu changes over time because of impacts, mass movement, and particle ejections [1-4]. The OSIRIS-REx samples were collected from a 20-m-diameter crater on Bennu called Hokioi. One of the driving hypotheses of the mission is that Hokioi is part of a population of small (<25 m) craters that are less than 0.1 Myr old and contain relatively unweathered material [1,4]. Our goal is to understand the recent surface exposure history of Bennu, utilizing radionuclides (10Be, 26Al, 36Cl, 41Ca) produced by both galactic and solar cosmic rays. We received ~12 mg of aggregate sample OREX-803014-0. We picked five of the larger particles with masses ranging from 0.24 to 0.68 mg. We dissolved each particle, along with 0.15 mg Be and 1.0 mg Cl carrier, in HF/HNO3 mixture, and did the same for the remaining aggregate sample of 9.8 mg. After dissolution, we took a small aliquot for chemical analysis, added 0.7 mg of Al carrier, and separated Be, Al, and Cl for analysis of cosmogenic 10Be, 26Al, and 36Cl by accelerator mass spectrometry [5]. Preliminary 26Al results show concentrations of 21–27 dpm/kg for the Bennu samples, with an average of 22.5 ± 0.6 dpm/kg for the five particles and 21.1 ± 0.7 dpm/kg for the remaining aggregate. These values are close to the expected 26Al saturation values of 25–30 dpm/kg for the top 1 m of Bennu’s regolith, suggesting a minimum exposure age of 1.5–2.0 Myr near the surface. Our initial Bennu results also resemble those found for Ryugu samples [6,7]; thus, we can hypothesize that the two asteroids have had similar surface exposure histories.

K C Welten↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Portable Cleanroom for NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission Deintegration

astromaterials curation↗

NASA NTRS2024

Preliminary Analyses of Asteroid Bennu Samples Returned by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission returned ~122 g of pristine carbonaceous regolith from Bennu on September 24, 2023. The science team is performing analyses of the mineralogy, chemical and isotopic compositions, and physical properties of the samples. The returned samples consist of particles ranging up to 3.5 cm in size with angular and hummocky morphologies predominating. Reflectance spectra over the visible and infrared wavelengths collected during the spacecraft encounter contained features indicating abundant hydrated phyllosilicates, carbonates, magnetite, organic matter, and rare anhydrous silicates. Laboratory analyses confirmed these detections and identified several other major and minor phases including abundant FeNi sulfides, minor hydrated Mg-rich phosphates as encrustations and in veins, and presolar grains. The Bennu samples show evidence for extensive aqueous alteration and resemble the rare and chemically primitive CI carbonaceous chondrites and samples returned from Ryugu by JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission. Samples of Bennu’s uppermost surface, collected by contact pads, help us to understand how recent impacts and irradiation processes have changed the optical properties of Bennu surface materials measured by remote sensing. The analyses thus far highlight the value of sample return by illustrating the pristine nature of the samples compared to meteorites that have been compromised and altered by exposure to the terrestrial environment.

Lindsay P Keller↗