Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Space
  3. News

NASA is gearing up to launch an asteroid mining mission in 2016

Rick Stella
By

nasa planning an asteroid grabbing mission osirisrex3
NASA
For a government agency who consistently sees its budget take hits year over year, NASA has somehow managed to launch a lot of new and exciting space missions over the last decade. With extremely positive results stemming from missions like New Horizons and the Mars Curiosity rover, NASA’s next exploration project aims to tackle one of the hottest topics facing the final frontier: asteroid mining. However, while proponents of this futuristic style of mining can’t help but see dollar signs when they hear the phrase, NASA intends to explore a near-Earth orbiting asteroid with hopes of learning more about the early Solar System.

Set to launch in September of 2016, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission plans to launch towards the near-Earth orbiting asteroid Bennu, and intends to reach it by August of 2018. Not only does the carbon-rich Bennu potentially harbor elements of our early Solar System, but it’s also expected to contain many of the molecules responsible for life on Earth and in Earth’s oceans. Moreover, scientists estimate Bennu’s current path has a small chance to intersect with Earth via collision sometime in the 22nd Century. NASA hopes OSIRIS-REx’s study of the asteroid can assist it in the future on a potential impact mission should Bennu indeed get close enough to Earth.

Osirisrex2
NASA
Recommended Videos

Like any expedition through space, OSIRIS-REx’s journey is not intended to be a short one. After reaching Bennu in 2018, the NASA plans to survey the asteroid for nearly a year, taking note of any asteroid plumes, natural satellites, and a list of the best possible sample extraction sites. Once OSIRIS-REx successfully extracts a sample — this would take place in mid-2019 — it would then begin its long journey home, utilizing a window during 2021 when its orbit with Earth is the most ideal. NASA then expects the craft’s sample container to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on roughly September 24, 2023, some seven years after its initial departure. It seems NASA is a big fan of good things coming to those who wait.

Related

In recent weeks, the OSIRIS-REx mission has passed critical steps toward its planned launch as the cameras designed to photograph and map Bennu have been delivered for installation. Designed and built by the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, the OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite is comprised of a small telescope used for taking photos from nearly 1.2 million miles away, a MapCam which searches for dust plumes on Bennu, and a SamCam which examines the taken sample.

To make the mission even more enthralling, NASA put together an interactive website detailing each and every planned step for the OSIRIS-REx. From its launch window in September of 2016 to its eventual return in 2023, the space agency leaves no stone unturned and gives fans an incredibly up-close and personal look. Though the obvious downside to the mission is the fact we won’t see the fruit of this expedition for another seven years, it’s incredibly captivating to see NASA continue to outdo itself nearly every year.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Rick Stella
Rick Stella
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Rick became enamored with technology the moment his parents got him an original NES for Christmas in 1991. And as they say…
NASA’s Crew-7 astronauts splash down safely off the coast of Florida
Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, left, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa, and Borisov are returning after nearly six-months in space as part of Expedition 70 aboard the International Space Station.

NASA's Crew-7 mission has splashed down without incident off the coast of Florida, with the four astronauts on board returning safely from the International Space Station (ISS). The crew spent a total of 199 days orbiting the Earth and are now headed to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to rest and recover.

The crew traveled in a SpaceX Dragon capsule that undocked from the ISS on Monday, March 11, and splashed down at 5:47 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 12. The group arrived at the station in late August 2023, and spent their time in orbit performing research and maintenance tasks.

Read more
NASA, Boeing delay Starliner’s first crewed flight again
Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. Boeing / Boeing

The first crewed test flight of Boeing Space’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft has been delayed yet again, but this time it’s not the result of an issue with the vehicle itself.

Read more
Meet NASA’s trio of mini moon rovers set to launch next year
Part of NASA’s CADRE technology demonstration, three small rovers that will explore the Moon together show off their ability to drive as a team autonomously – without explicit commands from engineers – during a test in a clean room at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in December 2023.

NASA is ramping up its plans for exploring the moon, not only in terms of preparing to send astronauts there but also rovers. There's the VIPER rover, which will search for water around the lunar south pole, and now NASA is introducing a trio of mini rovers called CADRE, or Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration. These will work together as a team to map the lunar surface, testing the possibilities of using rovers in groups for future exploration.

The rovers, developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, are just the size of a carry-on suitcase. They are designed to move independently but share data so they can cover more ground than a single rover could. They'll have to work over a lunar day, which is about two weeks, to map out features on the surface and look below ground using radar.

Read more