The whole world is celebrating the great success of NASA’s OSIRIS-Rex mission. Recently, the spacecraft managed to retrieve pieces from the Bennu Asteroid and deliver them to Earth. Everyone’s eyes were on this capsule that would illuminate the mystery of the universe. The O-Rex spacecraft, the hero of this mission, completed its mission and quietly set out towards its new target, Apophis Asteroid.
NASA’s new mission is on its way to Apophis Asteroid!
The OSIRIS-Rex asteroid transport mission will not be limited to the Bennu Asteroid. The spacecraft, which has been on duty for 7 years, will continue its work without slowing down. It managed to deliver pieces from the Bennu Asteroid to Earth last Sunday. He dropped the capsule containing the samples he collected from 63,000 miles above Earth. After about 20 minutes, it fired its thrusters to avoid entering the Earth’s atmosphere. He set out silently towards his new duty.
Now the new destination of NASA’s spacecraft is Apophis Asteroid. He will conduct examinations on the Apophis Asteroid, which scientists are worried about hitting the Earth in the future. Will collect samples. In this way, scientists will open the mysterious dark curtain of the universe. If all goes well, the spacecraft carrying out the OSIRIS-Rex mission will reach Apophis, a stony asteroid near Earth, in 2029. In this case, it will need a new task name. The name of the new mission was OSIRIS-APEX.
Apophis has a terrifying reputation for Earth. NASA discovered Apophis Asteroid in 2004. He also described Apophis as one of the most dangerous asteroids that could impact Earth. After worrying people with this bad reputation, it took its name from the demon snake that personified evil and chaos in ancient Egyptian mythology. Its fame, along with the possibility of hitting the Earth, spread fear throughout the world. However, this impact assessment changed as astronomers followed and observed the behavior of this asteroid.
shiftdelete.netFollowing the observations and precise orbit analysis carried out in March 2021, astronomers announced that Apophis is not a danger to our planet for at least a century. Scientists “With the support of recent optical observations and additional radar observations, the uncertainty in Apophis’s orbit has decreased from hundreds of kilometers to just a few kilometers when projected to 2029. The greatly improved knowledge of his position in 2029 provides greater certainty about him. “We can now remove Apophis from the risk list.” said.