NASA declared that it is currently developing a robotic spacecraft to be sent to an asteroid in 2016. The spacecraft is being developed in an attempt to help scientists understand the evolution of life.
The space mission at an estimated value of $800 million will require a robot to gather asteroid samples. It will be the first mission performed by the US to bring asteroid samples.
OSIRIS-REx
The spacecraft is anticipated to be launched in 2016. It is expected to make to the destination by 2020 and get back to Earth in 2023. NASA Administrator, Charlie Bolden stated that such robotic missions will revolutionize the future of human space exploration to asteroids and other space destinations.
According to sources from NASA, the spacecraft will stay at a distance of three miles from the asteroid. It will remain in that position for a period of six months to study the surface of the asteroid. Asteroids measure the size of five football fields. NASA will name the spacecraft as Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer.
The robotic spacecraft will then move away from the asteroid for about six ft and the robotic arm of the spacecraft will deploy and then cause explosion of the asteroid’s surface using nitrogen gas. It will then use an equipment, which appears more like a car’s air filter, to scrape out over 2 oz of the exploded material. After the robotic arm stores the exploded material within the spacecraft’s three-foot length capsule, it will set on a journey back to Earth.