> ScienceJust like NASA engineers predicted, OSIRIS-APEX has survived the closest approach to the Sun.
Onboard camera view of OSIRIS-APEX taken before and after the January 2 solar encounter.
The probe will arrive at Apophis when the asteroid makes a rare close Encounter with Earth in 2029.
“It’s phenomenal how well our spacecraft configuration protected OSIRIS-APEX, so I’m really encouraged by this first close perihelion pass,” said Ron Mink, mission systems engineer for OSIRIS-APEX, about the solar encounter.
The next close encounter with the Sun will take place on September 1 this year.
> Science
Just like NASA engineers predicted, OSIRIS-APEX has survived the closest approach to the Sun. The spacecraft has emerged unharmed despite getting 40 million kilometres closer to the Sun than it was designed to.
"The mission team confirmed that the spacecraft indeed had come out of the experience unscathed after downloading stored telemetry data in mid-March," NASA said in a statement.
Onboard camera view of OSIRIS-APEX taken before and after the January 2 solar encounter. Image: NASA
The mission team also tested the instruments of the probe in early April once it was far enough from the Sun after the January pass.
OSIRIS-APEX, short for Origins, Spectroscopic Interpretation, Resource Identification - Apophis Explorer, is a revamped mission. The spacecraft was launched in 2016 as OSIRIS-REx to collect samples from asteroid Bennu. It collected the samples in 2020, delivered them on September 24, 2023, and was redirected toward the asteroid Apophis.
The probe will arrive at Apophis when the asteroid makes a rare close Encounter with Earth in 2029.
Meanwhile, it is currently travelling in an elliptical orbt which brings it to perihelion (point closest to the Sun) about every nine months. This path will eventually lead to the spacecraft's rendezvous with the asteroid.
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“It’s phenomenal how well our spacecraft configuration protected OSIRIS-APEX, so I’m really encouraged by this first close perihelion pass,” said Ron Mink, mission systems engineer for OSIRIS-APEX, about the solar encounter. The probe was placed in a special orientation with respect to the Sun which allowed the solar panels to protect sensitive components.
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The engineers got another surprise when they found out that the camera on OSIRIS worked better in higher temperatures. Its visible and near-infrared spectrometer, which break down light to detect minerals is also working better than expected.
The next close encounter with the Sun will take place on September 1 this year. NASA says that OSIRIS will have to survive five more perihelions and undergo three gravity assists from Earth to reach its destination.
(Image: NASA)
