Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft
1–10 of 72 posts
Re: Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft
#2If the container is open, how are they planning to retrieve the sample without losing it on reentry?
Re: Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft
#3If the container is open, how are they planning to retrieve the sample without losing it on reentry?
The container will be loaded inside a sealed reentry capsule.
Re: Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft
#4As with all "current events in space", Scott Manley has an excellent video on this.
Re: Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft
#5If the container is open, how are they planning to retrieve the sample without losing it on reentry?
> "Lauretta said there is nothing flight controllers can do to clear the obstructions and prevent more bits of Bennu from escaping, other than to get the samples into their return capsule as soon as possible."
This, I'm guessing.
Also, I found these parts interesting:
>"Regardless of what’s on board, Osiris-Rex will still leave the vicinity of the asteroid in March — that’s the earliest possible departure given the relative locations of Earth and Bennu. The samples won’t make it back until 2023, seven years after the spacecraft rocketed away from Cape Canaveral."
>Because of the sudden turn of events, scientists won’t know how much the sample capsule holds until it’s back on Earth. They initially planned to spin the spacecraft to measure the contents, but that maneuver was canceled since it could spill even more debris.
>“I think we’re going to have to wait until we get home to know precisely how much we have,” Lauretta told reporters. “As you can imagine, that’s hard. ... But the good news is we see a lot of material.”
Re: Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft
#6As with all "current events in space", Scott Manley has an excellent video on this. https://youtu.be/cmQfWuFbLNg
> Blowing a raspberry in the surface of the asteroid
Classic Manley
Re: Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft
#7If the container is open, how are they planning to retrieve the sample without losing it on reentry?
> "Lauretta said there is nothing flight controllers can do to clear the obstructions and prevent more bits of Bennu from escaping, other than to get the samples into their return capsule as soon as possible." This, I'm guessing. Also, I found these parts interesting: >"Regardless of what’s on board, Osiris-Rex will still leave the vicinity of the asteroid in March — that’s the earliest possible departure given the r…
Thanks. That means there are two containers: the open one where the samples are now, and the sealed return capsule, where the contents will be transferred soon.
In that light, this quote confuses me:
> scientists won’t know how much the sample capsule holds until it’s back on Earth.
They wanted to spin the spacecraft to measure the mass, but they can't risk losing more samples from an open container.
But why can't they spin the spacecraft after the sample is secure in the return capsule, but before reaching Earth? Is it precisely in the center of mass?
Re: Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "Lauretta said there is nothing flight controllers can do to clear the obstructions and prevent more bits of Bennu from escaping, other than to get the samples into their return capsule as soon as possible." This, I'm guessing. Also, I found these parts interesting: >"Regardless of what’s on board, Osiris-Rex will still leave the vicinity of the asteroid in March — that’s the earliest possible departure given the r…
Thanks. That means there are two containers: the open one where the samples are now, and the sealed return capsule, where the contents will be transferred soon. In that light, this quote confuses me: > scientists won’t know how much the sample capsule holds until it’s back on Earth. They wanted to spin the spacecraft to measure the mass, but they can't risk losing more samples from an open container. But why can't th…
I recommend the scott manly video another commenter linked to for a more full explanation, but:
The sample container that's currently jammed open is on the end of a long arm, while the sample return capsule is mounted on the body of the spacecraft. The only way to measure mass in free-fall is to spin the entire craft and measure where the center of rotation is compered to before the sample capture. The difference is then used to calculate the sample mass.
With the sample at the end of a long arm, the spacecraft doesn't have to rotate very fast to get a large enough difference in rotation to measure the sample. If the sample is in the return capsule, the moment is so much smaller that it's probably below the sensitivity of the instruments they were planning to use.
Re: Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft
#9Is a second touchdown possible?
Re: Asteroid samples escaping from jammed NASA spacecraft
#10Is a second touchdown possible?
No, the spacecraft is already on a trajectory away from the asteroid, and any further maneuvering is not an option until the sample capsule has been stowed to avoid more debris spilling.