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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Begins Earth-Trojan Asteroid Search
February 9, 2017 -A NASA spacecraft begins its search Thursday for an enigmatic class of near-Earth objects known as Earth-Trojan asteroids. OSIRIS-REx, currently on a two-year outbound journey to the asteroid Bennu, will spend almost two weeks searching...
PI BLOG: Searching for the Earth-Trojan Asteroids
January 19, 2017 -The OSIRIS-REx mission will take advantage of our fortuitous trajectory to search for an elusive class of asteroids that may be the remnants of the building blocks of the Earth. Since our launch on September 8, 2016, spacecraft operations...
Successful Deep Space Maneuver for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft
January 17, 2017 -New tracking data confirms that NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft aced its first Deep Space Maneuver (DSM-1) on Dec. 28, 2016. The engine burn sets up the spacecraft for an Earth gravity assist this fall as it continues its two-year journey...
OSIRIS-REx Executes First Deep Space Maneuver
December 28, 2016 -NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft executed its first Deep Space Maneuver today, putting it on course for an Earth flyby in September 2017. The team will continue to examine telemetry and tracking data as it becomes available at the current...
NASA Mission to Search for Rare Asteroids
December 12, 2016 -NASA’s first mission to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth will be multitasking during its two-year outbound cruise to the asteroid Bennu. On Feb. 9-20, the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and...
PI BLOG: OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Check Out and Early Cruise Phase Activities
November 14, 2016 -It has been awhile since I posted anything to this site. The launch of OSIRIS-REx was such an amazing, emotional experience; it took me about a month to come back down to Earth (pun intended). I have now settled into a normal work routine...
NASA Tests Thrusters on Journey to Asteroid Bennu
October 7, 2016 -NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft fired its Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM) thrusters for the first time Friday in order to slightly adjust its trajectory on the outbound journey from Earth to the asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft’s...
NASA’s Asteroid-Bound Spacecraft Aces Instrument Check
September 26, 2016 -Its science instruments have been powered on, and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft continues on its journey to an asteroid. The spacecraft has passed its initial instrument check with flying colors as it speeds toward a 2018 rendezvous with...
OSIRIS-REx Mission Status Report – Sept. 15
September 15, 2016 -One week post-launch, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft remains healthy and is on track for its two-year journey to the asteroid Bennu. As of noon EDT...
PI BLOG: OSIRIS-REx – Day 2 in Space
September 10, 2016 -Our spacecraft continues to operate flawlessly. Kudos to the operations team members who have been tracking and operating the spacecraft since separation! Here are some details on recent status. After a flawless launch day, day 2 has...