The public is invited to a free talk called “OSIRIS-REx” with Jason P. Dworkin in the Pickford Theater, sixth floor, Dining Room A, Madison Building, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 24, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT.
Jason P. Dworkin, chief of the Astrochemistry Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will discuss the OSIRIS-REx mission. It is the first U.S. mission that will return samples from an asteroid to Earth. The findings will highlight the physical and chemical properties of material from asteroid Bennu. The asteroid is a remnant of the early of the solar system and should contain clues to its formation.
“OSIRIS-REx will return the largest sample from space since Apollo 17. Like the Apollo missions, OSIRIS-REx samples will be available for the world’s best laboratories to study and unlock the secrets of our origins,” Dworkin said.
The OSIRIS-REx or Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security – Regolith Explorer spacecraft will travel to a near-Earth asteroid, called Bennu (formerly 1999 RQ36), and bring at least a 2.1-ounce (60g) sample back to Earth for study. The mission will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth. The mission is scheduled for launch Sept. 8, 2016. As planned, the spacecraft will reach its asteroid target in 2018 and return a sample to Earth in 2023.
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For inquiries about this or upcoming talks at the Library of Congress, the public can contact the LOC Science, Technology and Business Division at 202-707-5664. ADA accommodations should be requested five business days in advance at 202-707-6382 (voice/tty) or ada@loc.gov.
The lecture will be later broadcast on the library’s webcast page and YouTube channel “Topics in Science” playlist.
For more information visit: http://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/
For directions, visit: http://www.loc.gov/visit/maps-and-floor-plans/
For information about the OSIRIS-Rex mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex
Ed Campion / Lora Bleacher
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-0697 / 2009
Edward.S.Campion@nasa.gov / Lora.V.Bleacher@nasa.gov