WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The spacecraft’s target is Bennu, a carbon-rich asteroid that could hold clues to the origin of the solar system, and host organic molecules that may have seeded life on Earth, the release noted.
"On May 20, Lockheed Martin delivered the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida," the release stated. "The spacecraft will now undergo final processing in preparation for a September launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 rocket."
OSIRIS-REx, which stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer "will collect at least 60 grams (2.1 ounces) — about the weight of a full-sized candy bar — of pristine asteroid material and return it to Earth for analysis," Lockheed Martin explained.
The 900 kg (1,980-pound) spacecraft was shipped on Friday on a US Air Force cargo plane from Buckley Air Force Base in the US state of Colorado to undergo final testing including a spin test, solar array release test, electrical system testing and propellant loading, the release noted.
OSIRIS-REx will take two years to reach Bennu, arriving in late 2018, and spend two years conducting surface mapping and sample site reconnaissance before collecting a sample in 2020 and returning it back to Earth in 2023, according to Lockheed Martin.
