Have you heard about an asteroid close-approach happening on April 29? Asteroid 1998 OR2 poses no threat to our planet, but we can still learn a lot by study.
- According to NASA scientists, the trajectory of the Russian meteor was significantly different than the trajectory of the asteroid 2012 DA14, making it a completely unrelated object. Information is still being collected about the Russian meteor and analysis is preliminary at this point.
- NASA is finally ready to command its OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe to grab a sample of the space rock Bennu. The maneuver will be performed this evening, and NASA will live stream the operation.
- NASA Asteroid Watch: 8 Near-Earth Objects To Zip Past Earth This Week A total of 8 NEAs are on their way to pass by Earth - one twice as tall as the Leaning Tower of Pisa By Alexis Ty.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe will attempt to collect samples of asteroid Bennu today Tuesday (Oct. 20) and you can watch it live here.
OSIRIS-REx launched to asteroid Bennu in 2016 as NASA's first asteroid sample-return mission. The spacecraft arrived at Bennu in 2018 and is expected to return its samples to Earth in 2023. First, OSIRIS-REx must collect Bennu samples. That begins today with its first 'tag' maneuver.
NASA's webcast will begin at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) and cover OSIRIS-REx's sampling attempt at 6:13 p.m. EDT (2213 GMT). The webcast will end at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT).
Starting at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT), you can following OSIRIS-REx's approach to Bennu live with a real-time animation at the mission's website here.
From NASA:
Editor's Note: This advisory was updated on Monday, Oct. 19, to reflect programming changes for Monday, Nov. 19.
NASA will broadcast coverage of a first for the agency as its Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission attempts to collect a sample of asteroid Bennu on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 6:12 p.m. EDT.
Live coverage of the spacecraft’s descent to the asteroid’s surface for its “Touch-And-Go,” or TAG, maneuver, which will be managed by Lockheed Martin Space near Denver, will begin at 5 p.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
Beginning with an orbit departure maneuver around 1:50 p.m., the full sequence of the complicated engineering feat will be covered on @OSIRISREx, and media and the public can ask questions using the hashtag #ToBennuandBack.
In addition to the broadcast Tuesday, Oct. 20, briefings and social media activities will cover the mission and asteroid science on Monday, Oct. 19.
OSIRIS-REx, which is about the size of a 15-passenger van, is currently orbiting the asteroid Bennu 200 million miles from Earth. Bennu contains material from the early solar system and may contain the molecular precursors to life and Earth’s oceans. The asteroid is about as tall as the Empire State Building and could potentially threaten Earth late in the next century, with a 1‐in‐2,700 chance of impacting our planet during one of its close approaches. OSIRIS-REx is now ready to take a sample of this ancient relic of our solar system and bring its stories and secrets home to Earth.
Full mission coverage and participants (all times Eastern):
Monday, Oct. 19
1 p.m. – Asteroid Science and Planetary Defense media teleconference with the following participants:
Lori Glaze, Planetary Science Division director, NASA Headquarters, Washington
Hal Levison, Lucy mission principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado
Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Psyche mission principal investigator, Arizona State University, Tempe
Andrea Riley, DART mission program executive, NASA Headquarters
Jamie Elsila, research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
3 p.m. – OSIRIS-REx Science and Engineering media teleconference, airing live on nasa.gov/live, with the following participants:
Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington
Lori Glaze, Planetary Science Division director, NASA Headquarters
Heather Enos, OSIRIS-REx deputy principal investigator, University of Arizona, Tucson
Kenneth Getzandanner, OSIRIS-REx flight dynamics manager, Goddard
Beth Buck, OSIRIS-REx mission operations program manager, Lockheed Martin Space, Littleton, Colorado
4:45 to 5:30 p.m. (event begins at 5 p.m.) – Live Social Media Question-and-Answer Session, airing on NASA TV, with the following participants:
Tuesday, Oct. 20
1:20 to 6:30 p.m. – Live stream animation displaying OSIRIS-REx’s sample collection activities in real time. The animation commences with the spacecraft’s slew into position for the Orbit Departure Maneuver and runs through the entire sequence of TAG events, concluding after the spacecraft’s back-away burn. Event will be broadcast on the mission’s website.
5 to 6:30 p.m. – Live broadcast from Lockheed Martin of OSIRIS-REx’s descent to the surface of Bennu and attempt at sample collection.
Hosted by Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona, and Michelle Thaller, science communicator at Goddard, the broadcast will cover milestones in the last 90 minutes leading up to TAG and spacecraft back-away. It will include perspectives from team members and science leaders about the mission’s challenges and accomplishments.
A clean feed of the Mission Support Area during TAG is planned to run on NASA’s media channel.
Wednesday, Oct. 21
5 p.m. – Post-sampling news conference – and release of new images – with the following participants:
Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator, University of Arizona, Tucson
Rich Burns, OSIRIS-REx project manager, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland
Sandra Freund, OSIRIS-REx mission operations manager, Lockheed Martin Space, Littleton, Colorado
For phone bridge information, media should contact Lonnie Shekhtman at lonnie.shekhtman@nasa.gov no later than 1 p.m. Oct. 21.
6:15 to 6:45 p.m. – A NASA Science Live episode will air with team members answering live questions from the public about TAG, OSIRIS-REx, and asteroid science. Use #ToBennuAndBack to participate.
Virtual NASA Social
NASA also will host a #ToBennuAndBack Virtual NASA Social. RSVP to the Facebook event for social media updates.
NASA Social participants will get a chance to:
Connect virtually with like-minded space enthusiasts as we prepare for TAG
Receive a NASA Social badge to share online or print at home
Virtually tour the asteroid Bennu
Access the broadcast and other activities around TAG
By applying to the group, participants are explicitly agreeing to the group's rules as set forth by NASA. All membership questions must be answered to be accepted to the group.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator, and the University of Arizona also leads the science team and the mission’s science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space near Denver built the spacecraft and is providing flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
For more information on the OSIRIS-REx mission, visit:
The OSIRIS-REx press kit is available at:
Delayed: SpaceX GPS satellite launch for US Space Force
Update for 9:57 p.m. EDT, Oct. 2: The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the GPS III SV04 navigation satellite for the U.S. Space Force suffered an abort just two seconds before tonight's liftoff. A new launch date has not yet been announced.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the GPS III SV04 satellite for the U.S. Space Force and Air Force from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
From SpaceX
SpaceX is targeting Friday, October 2, for a Falcon 9 launch of the GPS III Space Vehicle 04 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The 15-minute launch window opens at 9:43 p.m. EDT, or 01:43 UTC on October 3.
Following stage separation, SpaceX will land Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The spacecraft will deploy approximately 1 hour and 29 minutes after liftoff.
Last week, the United States Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) announced an agreement with SpaceX to launch previously flown boosters on future National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions.
You can watch the launch webcast here, starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.
Delayed: ULA Delta IV Heavy launching NROL-44 spy satellite
Update for Sept. 30, 11:59 p.m. EDT: Tonight's launch attempt was scrubbed after the rocket's Terminal Countdown Sequencer Rack detected an issue. A new launch target has not been announced.
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket will launch a classified spy satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office Wednesday night (Sept. 30).
The mission, titled NROL-44, will lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, at 11:54 p.m. EDT (0354 GMT on Oct. 1). Watch it live in the window above, courtesy of ULA.
Nasa Asteroid Watch
From ULA:
Rocket: Delta IV Heavy
Mission: NROL-44 Launch
Date: Sun., Sept. 27, 2020
Launch Time: 12:10 a.m. EDT
Launch Location: Space Launch Complex-37, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Mission Information: A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket will launch the NROL-44 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Liftoff will occur from Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Launch Notes: This will be 141st mission for United Launch Alliance and our 29th for the NRO. It is the 385th Delta launch since 1960, the 12th Delta IV Heavy and the 8th Heavy for the NRO.
Launch Updates: To keep up to speed with updates to the launch countdown, dial the ULA launch hotline at 1-877-852-4321 or join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch, twitter.com/ulalaunch and instagram.com/ulalaunch; hashtags #DeltaIVHeavy #NROL44
'ISS Live!' Tune in to the space station
Find out what the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station are up to by tuning in to the 'ISS Live' broadcast. Hear conversations between the crew and mission controllers on Earth and watch them work inside the U.S. segment of the orbiting laboratory. When the crew is off duty, you can enjoy live views of Earth from Space. You can watch and listen in the window below, courtesy of NASA.
From NASA:
Today's Asteroid Flyby
'Live video from the International Space Station includes internal views when the crew is on-duty and Earth views at other times. The video is accompanied by audio of conversations between the crew and Mission Control. This video is only available when the space station is in contact with the ground. During 'loss of signal' periods, viewers will see a blue screen.
'Since the station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, it experiences a sunrise or a sunset about every 45 minutes. When the station is in darkness, external camera video may appear black, but can sometimes provide spectacular views of lightning or city lights below.'
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Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.
The current known asteroid count is: .
Most of this ancient space rubble can be found orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt. Asteroids range in size from Vesta — the largest at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter — to bodies that are less than 33 feet (10 meters) across. The total mass of all the asteroids combined is less than that of Earth's Moon.
Go farther.Explore Asteroids In Depth ›
Key Science Targets
Did You Know?Did You Know?
The total mass of all the asteroids in the main asteroid belt combined is less than that of Earth's Moon.
Kid-Friendly Asteroids
Kid-Friendly Asteroids
Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun. Although asteroids orbit the Sun like planets, they are much smaller than planets.
There are lots of asteroids in our solar system. Most of them live in the main asteroid belt—a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Some asteroids go in front of and behind Jupiter. They are called Trojans. Asteroids that come close to Earth are called Near Earth Objects, NEOs for short. NASA keeps close watch on these asteroids.
Asteroids are left over from the formation of our solar system.
Visit NASA Space Place for more kid-friendly facts.
NASA Space Place: All About Asteroids ›Resources
Nasa Asteroid Watch 2020
Additional Resources