Site Sandpiper during Reconnaissance A

Site Sandpiper during Reconnaissance A

This is the highest-resolution image of candidate sample site Sandpiper that’s been captured as of October 5. Site Sandpiper is located in asteroid Bennu’s southern hemisphere, and the region of interest is visible in the center of the image (situated above the large boulder). The image was taken by the PolyCam camera on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on October 5, from a distance of 0.6 miles (1 km). The field of view is 48 ft (14.6 m). For scale, the large, light colored boulder in the bottom center of the image is 16 ft (5 m) wide, which is about the size of a box truck. The image was obtained during the mission’s Reconnaissance A phase. When the image was taken, the spacecraft was over the southern hemisphere, pointing PolyCam slightly south and to the east.

Date Taken: October 5, 2019

Instrument Used: OCAMS (PolyCam)

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

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