NASA spacecraft escapes, heading towards Earth's "number 1 enemy"

(NLDO) - The OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft has overcome its first survival challenge on its journey to the "Destroyer" - the celestial body with the highest possibility of colliding with Earth.

OSIRIS-APEX is the new name of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which last September successfully dropped a sample of the asteroid Bennu carrying "seeds of life" to Earth, then redirected the OSIRIS-APEX mission in mid-air towards Apophis - nicknamed "God of Destruction".

According to a new announcement posted by NASA on its homepage, the OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft has just been confirmed to be completely "healthy", with its equipment still operating normally after a dangerously close approach to the Sun.

The spacecraft also just sent back to Earth a photo updating its status 6 months after approaching "hell".

The latest photo that OSIRIS-APEX took a few days ago shows part of the spacecraft's hull, showing that it is still safe and its equipment is preserved after 6 months of reaching perihelion - Photo: NASA

The reason NASA is so worried is because the spacecraft was originally designed to be suitable for the OSIRIS-REx mission to Bennu. However, after the mission ended, the spacecraft was still in such good condition that NASA took advantage of it.

The biggest challenge is that to reach Apophis in 2029, the spacecraft will have to circle the Sun several times, at points where the distance becomes too short. So NASA engineers have anticipated the possibility that the heat from our parent star will destroy the spacecraft.

OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft - Graphic image: NASA

OSIRIS-APEX reached perihelion for the first time on January 2 in a modified attitude, with the solar arrays repositioned as shields to protect the most vulnerable parts.

However, after 6 months of monitoring the spacecraft and modifying some details, NASA scientists dared to confirm that it was completely safe and strong enough to survive several more perihelion passes - about 9 months each time.

As for its target, the "Destroyer" Apophis is the asteroid that tops the list of most dangerous objects to Earth by both NASA and ESA (European Space Agency).

It also caused concern when it was predicted to have a high probability of colliding with Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029.

Now, while new calculations suggest Earth will escape in 2029, Apophis remains a highly threatening object that will return many times. It is also a primitive asteroid, potentially containing “seeds of life” like Bennu.

For all these reasons, NASA decided to invest in a mission to approach this "God of Destruction".

Together with previous data from Bennu, the OSIRIS-APEX mission is expected to help humanity understand more about celestial bodies that pose a threat to Earth, thereby designing appropriate planetary defense missions in the future.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tau-nasa-thoat-hiem-huong-den-ke-thu-so-1-cua-trai-dat-196240603101542613.htm