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DellaGiustina, D. N.; Balram-Knutson, S. S.; Bottke, W. F.; d’Aubigny, C. Y. Drouet; Hamilton, V. E.; Izawa, M. R. M.; Walsh, K. J.; Bowles, N. E.; Hoak, D.; Oliver, S.; Squyres, S.; Richardson, D.; Cloutis, E. A.; Hildebrand, A. R.; Glotch, T.; Cheuvront, A.; Tachibana, S.; Pajola, M.; Dotto, E.; Carcich, B.; Corvin, M.; Nelson, D.; Pelgrift, J.; Hayne, P.; Bierhaus, E. B.; Buck, B.; J.Cerna, J.Cerna; Church, E.; Coltrin, M.; Deguzman, A.; Ellis, D.; Fisher, A.; Freund, S.; Gonzales, S.; Haas, P.; Hasten, A.; Hilbert, A.; Mario, C.; Miller, C.; Mirfakhrai, A.; Skeen, M.; Ballouz, R.-L.; Bandrowski, R.; Contreras, J.; Diallo, B.; Drozd, K.; Fellows, C.; Hammond, D.; Huettner, E.; Janakus, A.; Koelbel, L.; Kreiner, J.; Lewin, C.; Maleszewski, C. K.; Marchese, K.; McDonough, E.; Morton, E.; Munoz, R.; Schwartz, S. R.; Stewart, S.; Bloomquist, L.; Liang, J.; Teti, F.; Bowles, H.; Piacentine, N.; Toland, A.; Wren, P.; Bos, B.; Carpenter, R.; Fleshman, K.; Folta, D.; Mazarico, E. M.; Moore, W.; Rieger, S.; Rowlands, D.; Scroggins, A.; Wasser, M.; Keller, L. P.; Kissell, J.; Weirich, J. R.; Bojorquez-Murphy, N.; Christensen, P. R.; Mehall, G.; Rios, K.; Rozitis, B.; Marshall, J.; Killgore, M.; Chodas, M.; Masterson, R. A.; Freemantle, J.; Seabrook, J. A.; Nguyen, L.; Peachey, J.; Steele, R.; Turner, R.; Milazzo, M.; Delbo, M.; Michel, P.
Nature, 04/2019, Volume: 568, Issue: 7750Journal Article
NASA’S Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft recently arrived at the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu, a primitive body that represents the objects that may have brought prebiotic molecules and volatiles such as water to Earth1. Bennu is a low-albedo B-type asteroid2 that has been linked to organic-rich hydrated carbonaceous chondrites3. Such meteorites are altered by ejection from their parent body and contaminated by atmospheric entry and terrestrial microbes. Therefore, the primary mission objective is to return a sample of Bennu to Earth that is pristine—that is, not affected by these processes4. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft carries a sophisticated suite of instruments to characterize Bennu’s global properties, support the selection of a sampling site and document that site at a sub-centimetre scale5,6,7,8,9,10,11. Here we consider early OSIRIS-REx observations of Bennu to understand how the asteroid’s properties compare to pre-encounter expectations and to assess the prospects for sample return. The bulk composition of Bennu appears to be hydrated and volatile-rich, as expected. However, in contrast to pre-encounter modelling of Bennu’s thermal inertia12 and radar polarization ratios13—which indicated a generally smooth surface covered by centimetre-scale particles—resolved imaging reveals an unexpected surficial diversity. The albedo, texture, particle size and roughness are beyond the spacecraft design specifications. On the basis of our pre-encounter knowledge, we developed a sampling strategy to target 50-metre-diameter patches of loose regolith with grain sizes smaller than two centimetres4. We observe only a small number of apparently hazard-free regions, of the order of 5 to 20 metres in extent, the sampling of which poses a substantial challenge to mission success.
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