A series of discrete frames illustrates how OSIRIS-REx approached Bennu, briefly touched the asteroid and collected surface material with a cylindrical head on a robotic arm, departed, and then stored the material in a sample return capsule.

OSIRIS-REx

My text colleague Clara Moskowitz and I collaborated on a fun graphics-heavy article about how the OSIRIS-REx mission returned samples from the asteroid Bennu. One of the mobile-formatted panels is shown here.

For more graphics and context, read the full article at Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pebbles-from-an-asteroid-are-about-to-be-delivered-to-earth-and-its-totally-awesome/

Graphic by Jen Christiansen; Sources: “OSIRIS-REx, Returning the Asteroid Sample,” by Thomas M. Ajluni et al. IEEE Aerospace Conference Paper, March 2015; and “OSIRIS-REx: Sample Return from Asteroid (101955) Bennu,” by Dante S. Lauretta et al., in Space Science Reviews, Vol. 212; August 2017 (primary references)

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