MISSION 2
​Brasil & USA

The International approach between American and Brazilian students started in 2016, and in the second semester of 2018 when Bennu was just a point of light more than 2 million km away from the spacecraft, more students had a chance to learn about the project.

As OSIRIS-REx approaches the asteroid, it will use an array of small rocket thrusters to match the velocity of Bennu in its orbit around the Sun.

The rendezvous requires OSIRIS-REx to reach the asteroid at the same location as the asteroid and at the same time the asteroid gets to that location. It must also move at the same speed and in the same direction as the asteroid.
Bennu travels around the sun at an average speed of 63,000 mph. To reach Bennu, OSIRIS-REx will perform a series of braking maneuvers, slowing down by 0.53 km/s (1,186 mph), resulting in a relative approach velocity of 20 cm/s (~0.45 mph).

During the asteroid encounter, OSIRIS-REx is formation flying with Bennu. A survey of the asteroid begins in October 2018 and will last for over a year. It includes four major phases:

• Preliminary Survey searches for asteroid plumes and natural satellites, and also measures the Yarkovsky acceleration of Bennu.
• Orbital A allows the Flight Dynamics Team to transition from star-based navigation to landmark-based navigation using images of Bennu's surface.
• In Detailed Survey, several instruments work together to map Bennu and determine its global spectral, thermal, and geological properties.
• Orbital B continues to map Bennu at higher resolutions, with a focus on candidate sample sites. At the end of Orbital B a sample site will be selected.

NEXT MISSIONS

The program is dedicated to
kids from ​8 to 14 years old

Check out the next dates

March 30 and 31
April 14 and 15
Astronaut Museum
308 Pine St, Titusville, FL 32796, USA 
February 23 and 24

April 6 and 7 
May 11 and 12 
​June 8 and 9 ​
KSCIA Space Lab 
505 Odyssey Way - Merritt Island 32953