Dark Patch in Osprey's Crater - OSIRIS-REx Mission

Dark Patch in Osprey’s Crater

This image shows a close-up of backup sample site Osprey on asteroid Bennu. The crater where Osprey is located has a dark patch of material at its center, and a portion of it is visible in the left of the image. Site Osprey itself is located just above the dark patch. The image was taken by the PolyCam camera on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on May 26, from a distance of 0.2 miles (0.3 km). The field of view is 11 ft (3.5 m). For reference, the smooth, dark rock (upper right) is 1.4 ft (0.4 m) across, which is about the size of a toaster oven. The image was obtained during the mission’s Reconnaissance C phase. When it was taken, the spacecraft was over the northern hemisphere, pointing PolyCam slightly south.

Date Taken: May 26, 2020

Instrument Used: OCAMS (PolyCam)

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

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Dark Patch in Osprey’s Crater

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