The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reports that the OSIRIS-REx robotic spacecraft has made its closest approach to the asteroid Bennu to date.
Recall that the OSIRIS-REx project, or Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer, is aimed at taking rock samples from the named space body and delivering them to Earth.
The implementation of the main task is scheduled for August this year. It is expected that the apparatus will be able to capture samples smaller than 2 cm in diameter.
An area called Nightingale was chosen for rock sampling: it is located in a crater lying high in the northern hemisphere of Bennu. During approaches to the asteroid, OSIRIS-REx cameras map the Nightingale zone to determine the best rock collection site.
During the March 3 flyby, the automatic station was at a distance of only 250 meters from the asteroid. As a result, it was possible to obtain the most detailed images of the surface of this object to date.
The next approach is scheduled for April this year: the device will fly past Bennu at a distance of 125 meters.
Source: 3dnews.ru