NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will have another mission after launching a sample of the asteroid Bennu. The agency extended the mission of the probe to make it study the near-Earth asteroid Apophis for 18 months. The mission will be renamed OSIRIS-APEX (OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer) and the spacecraft will maneuver to space rock 30 days after flying over Earth on September 24, 2023. However, it will not collect a sample. Instead, he will blow up the surface with pushers to expose the subsurface for testing.
Apophis was initially of interest due to fears that it would hit the Earth in 2029. Researchers have removed this concern, but it is still a very valuable topic. It will have the closest approach of any known asteroid to its size (about 1,000 feet), and scientists are eager to study the effect of the Earth’s gravitational pull on the object. And unlike Bennu, which is associated with carbon chondrite meteorites, Apophis is associated with the common chondrite variety.
The extension will not be cheap. The visit to Apophis will add $ 200 million to the cost ceiling of a mission that is already expected to cost $ 1.16 billion. However, it may be worthwhile if it helps humanity better understand asteroids and the risks they may pose to Earth.
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