April 18, 2012

Dwayne Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1726 dwayne c brown@nasa gov

Nancy Neal Jones Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md 301-286-0039 nancy n jones@nasa gov

RELEASE: 12-121

NASA MISSION WANTS AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS TO TARGET ASTEROIDS

WASHINGTON -- A new NASA outreach project will enlist the help of amateur astronomers to discover near-Earth objects (NEOs) and study their characteristics NEOs are asteroids with orbits that occasionally bring them close to the Earth

Starting today, a new citizen science project called "Target Asteroids!" will support NASA's Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security - Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission objectives to improve basic scientific understanding of NEOs OSIRIS-Rex is scheduled for launch in 2016 and will study material from an asteroid

Amateur astronomers will help better characterize the population of NEOs, including their position, motion, rotation and changes in the intensity of light they emit Professional astronomers will use this information to refine theoretical models of asteroids, improving their understanding about asteroids similar to the one OSIRIS-Rex will encounter in 2019, designated 1999 RQ36

OSIRIS-Rex will map the asteroid's global properties, measure non-gravitational forces and provide observations that can be compared with data obtained by telescope observations from Earth In 2023, OSIRIS-REx will return back to Earth at least 2 11 ounces (60 grams) of surface material from the asteroid

Target Asteroids! data will be useful for comparisons with actual mission data The project team plans to expand participants in 2014 to students and teachers

"Although few amateur astronomers have the capability to observe 1999 RQ36 itself, they do have the capability to observe other targets," said Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md

Previous observations indicate 1999 RQ36 is made of primitive materials OSIRIS-REx will supply a wealth of information about the asteroid's composition and structure Data also will provide new insights into the nature of the early solar system and its evolution, orbits of NEOs and their impact risks, and the building blocks that led to life on Earth

Amateur astronomers long have provided NEO tracking observations in support of NASA's NEO Observation Program A better understanding of NEOs is a critically important precursor in the selection and targeting of future asteroid missions

"For well over 10 years, amateurs have been important contributors in the refinement of orbits for newly discovered near-Earth objects," said Edward Beshore, deputy principal investigator for the OSIRIS-REx mission at the University of Arizona in Tucson

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md , will provide overall mission management, systems engineering and safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx Dante Lauretta is the mission's principal investigator at the University of Arizona Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver will build the spacecraft OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala , manages New Frontiers for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington

For more information about NASA, visit:

http://www nasa gov

For more information on Target Asteroids! and OSIRIS-REx, visit:

http://osiris-rex lpl arizona edu

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@mediaservices nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

https://aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/NASA_REPORTS/example/example com/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:[list_owner_email]>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

[physical_address]