Gravity on the Moon vs. Asteroid Bennu: Animation

On October 20, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected a sample of asteroid Bennu. The event revealed surprising details about Bennu’s surface and near-subsurface.00:01 - One second after contact, OSIRIS-REx injected Bennu with pressurized nitrogen gas, causing an explosion of particles and driving loose material into its sample collector.00:06 - Six seconds after contact, while it was still sinking into Bennu, OSIRIS-REx fired its thrusters to begin the back-away maneuver.00:09 - Nine seconds after contact, thrusters on board OSIRIS-REx halted its descent into Bennu, pushing it away from the asteroid, and blasting loose material from the sample site. The spacecraft’s arm had sunk almost half a meter beneath the surface – far deeper than expected, confirming that Bennu’s surface is incredibly weak.00:16 - Sixteen seconds after contact, the arm fully reemerged from the subsurface. OSIRIS-REx had collected a handful of material and kicked up roughly six tons of loose rock.00:30 - Thirty seconds after contact, it shut off its thrusters and drifted away from Bennu. OSIRIS-REx will return its sample to Earth in September 2023.Learn more about the surface properties of asteroid Bennu. Data-driven animation showing how the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft impacted asteroid Bennu s surface when it touched down and collected a sample. For More InformationSee [NASA.gov](https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex)

The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft arrived at near-Earth asteroid Bennu in December 2018. After studying the asteroid for nearly two years, the spacecraft successfully performed a Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection maneuver on October 20, 2020. The change in surface topography as a result of the sample collection maneuver is observed by comparing pre-TAG and post-TAG digital terrain models (DTM), revealing the newly-formed TAG crater. OSIRIS-REx will return its sample of Bennu to Earth in September 2023. This visualization begins with a top-down view of a high resolution digital terrain model (DTM) of the Nightingale TAG sample site on Bennu. As the camera moves closer, data representing the surface height change pre-post TAG fades on. The surface height change as a result of the TAG event is represented by both a color map and by offsetting the original DTM to reveal the TAG crater. The DTM offset is applied to the surface region within ~7.5 meters of impact, which is highlighted for emphasis. With this color bar, yellows, greens, and blues represent a decrease in elevation, light red represents no change in elevation, and dark red represents an increase in elevation. Thruster marks and a region of ejected surface material are labeled. The camera does a 360 degree spin around the sample site before returning to a top-down view of the color-mapped data. Same visualization as above, but without “Point of Impact,” and “Thruster Mark” labels Still image - Top-down view of a high resolution digital terrain model (DTM) of the Nightingale TAG sample site on Bennu. Still image - Oblique view of the Nightingale TAG sample site with the TAG impact location labeled. Still image - Oblique view of the TAG sample site with pre-post surface height change data represented by both a color map and by offsetting the original DTM to reveal the TAG crater. The DTM offset is only applied to the surface region within ~7.5 meters of impact, which is highlighted for emphasis. Still image - Oblique view of the TAG sample site with pre-post surface height change data represented by both a color map and by offsetting the original DTM to reveal the TAG crater. The DTM offset is only applied to the surface region within ~7.5 meters of impact, which is highlighted for emphasis. Additional surface features resulting from TAG are labeled. Still image - Top-down view of a high resolution digital terrain model (DTM) of the Nightingale TAG sample site on Bennu with pre-post surface height change data.