Reddit AMA with the OSIRIS-REx Mission on Sept. 21
On Sept. 22, 2017, NASA’s asteroid-bound spacecraft, OSIRIS-REx, will fly by Earth and use the planet’s gravitational pull to slingshot itself onto a new trajectory. This maneuver, called an Earth Gravity Assist (or EGA), will put the spacecraft on course to rendezvous with a primitive, near-Earth asteroid named Bennu. The spacecraft will reach Bennu next year, map the asteroid, and collect a sample of surface material (called regolith) that will be returned to Earth for study in 2023.
We are scientists, engineers and operations managers based at the University of Arizona—home to the Principal Investigator’s office and the Science Processing Operations Center for the mission. Join us for a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Sept. 21, 2017—the eve of Earth Gravity Assist—and get answers to your questions about OSIRIS-REx, EGA, and the mission to collect some of the oldest material in the solar system.
We’ll be online from 1:00 to 3:00 pm PST (4:00 to 6:00 pm EST). Ask us anything!
Featured Experts
Dr. Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx Principal Investigator
Sara Knutson, OSIRIS-REx Science Operations Lead Engineer
Dr. Ellen Howell, OSIRIS-REx Senior Research Scientist, Asteroid Spectroscopy
Joshua Nelson, OSIRIS-REx Science Operations Engineer
Anjani Polit, OSIRIS-REx Mission Implementation Systems Engineer
Heather Enos, OSIRIS-REx Deputy Principal Investigator