In a remarkable feat, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft returned a substantial sample from asteroid Bennu, landing on September 24 at the Utah Test and Training Range outside Salt Lake City. This success was achieved despite a minor glitch in the parachute system, attributed to inconsistencies in wiring labels. The primary parachute functioned effectively, ensuring the capsule’s safe descent, with further analysis underway to pinpoint the exact cause.
The spacecraft safely delivered its payload of asteroid material on September 24, 2023, in the Utah desert. However, the descent encountered a snag due to a malfunction in a smaller parachute, known as a drogue. An in-depth examination of the descent footage and capsule records revealed that mismatched wiring label definitions in the design plans likely led to the incorrect wiring of the parachute release mechanisms, causing the drogue chute to deploy irregularly.
When the capsule descended on September 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range, it was carrying samples from Bennu, collected in October 2020. The drogue chute, designed to deploy at around 100,000 feet to stabilize the capsule, malfunctioned. Instead of deploying, it was erroneously released while still packed. It finally deployed at 9,000 feet but detached immediately due to a pre-cut retention cord. Fortunately, the main parachute deployed correctly, ensuring a stable and slightly early landing without compromising the Bennu sample.
The root cause of the problem lay in the inconsistent use of the term “main” in the design plans. This inconsistency between the signal transmitter and receiver led to a mix-up, triggering the parachute deployment sequence incorrectly.
NASA plans to conduct further tests to establish the root cause conclusively. The parachute system, housed in one of the glove boxes at NASA’s Johnson Space Center along with the Bennu sample, will be examined once the sample processing is complete. This investigation will allow NASA engineers to access the parachute system and validate the suspected cause of the malfunction.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about OSIRIS-REx Mission
What was the issue encountered by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx during its sample return mission?
During its return mission from asteroid Bennu, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft faced a minor issue with its parachute deployment. This was caused by inconsistencies in the wiring label definitions, leading to the drogue chute (a smaller parachute) deploying out of sequence. Despite this, the main parachute functioned correctly, ensuring a safe landing for the capsule.
How did NASA resolve the parachute deployment issue in the OSIRIS-REx mission?
After a detailed review of the descent video and capsule documentation, NASA identified the cause as mismatched wiring label definitions in the design plans. This led to the incorrect wiring of the parachute release mechanisms. The main parachute compensated for this error, allowing the capsule to land safely.
What was the objective of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission?
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission aimed to collect and return a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. The mission successfully retrieved a half-pound sample from Bennu’s surface in October 2020 and returned it to Earth for analysis.
Where and when did the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule land?
The OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule landed at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range, located in the desert outside Salt Lake City, on September 24, 2023. Despite the minor parachute issue, the capsule safely delivered the collected samples.
More about OSIRIS-REx Mission
- NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission Overview
- OSIRIS-REx Bennu Sample Collection
- Parachute Deployment Anomaly in OSIRIS-REx
- Utah Test and Training Range Landing Details
- NASA Johnson Space Center Glove Box Studies
4 comments
Bennu’s samples are gonna be awesome for research. But, that parachute issue? Could’ve been bad. Good thing it wasn’t worse.
Interesting read. Always thought space missions went without a hitch. Guess even NASA faces hiccups, huh?
wow, this is some real high-tech stuff NASA’s doing. Parachute problems sounds scary but they handled it like pros!
Heard about the OSIRIS-REx before, but didn’t know about the parachute drama. This article opened my eyes, NASA’s not always perfect but they sure are resilient.