NASA's OSIRIS-APEX completes 2nd perihelion of solar orbit

Written by Copernical Team Sunday, 26 January 2025 09:05

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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 24, 2025

NASA's OSIRIS-APEX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security - Apophis Explorer) spacecraft has successfully completed its second perihelion passage, reaching within 46.5 million miles of the Sun - between the orbits of Mercury and Venus - without exceeding its heat tolerances. On January 23, 2025, the mission team finalized its review of data collected during

NASA's OSIRIS-APEX completes 2nd perihelion of solar orbit
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 24, 2025

NASA's OSIRIS-APEX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security - Apophis Explorer) spacecraft has successfully completed its second perihelion passage, reaching within 46.5 million miles of the Sun - between the orbits of Mercury and Venus - without exceeding its heat tolerances.

On January 23, 2025, the mission team finalized its review of data collected during the solar pass. "There were no surprises, and the spacecraft is operating well," said Mike Moreau, deputy project manager for OSIRIS-APEX at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

As planned, OSIRIS-APEX passed through perihelion on September 2, 2024. The spacecraft's journey to asteroid Apophis takes it closer to the Sun than its original design anticipated. To withstand this intense environment, the spacecraft was oriented between August 1 and October 13, 2024, so that one of its solar arrays shaded its most heat-sensitive components, ensuring they remained within safe operating temperatures.

During this phase, communications with the spacecraft were limited to a single low-gain antenna, providing only minimal data for system monitoring. For several days, no communication was possible as the spacecraft moved behind the Sun relative to Earth. However, on October 13, OSIRIS-APEX exited its perihelion configuration and gradually resumed full operations. Engineers successfully downlinked telemetry data, confirming the spacecraft's health.

By November 2024, routine checkouts of the spacecraft's instruments confirmed that OSIRIS-APEX remains in good condition following its second perihelion encounter. This is the second of six close solar passes required during the spacecraft's six-year journey to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis in 2029. The next perihelion passage is scheduled for May 2025.

OSIRIS-APEX previously completed its first perihelion passage earlier in 2024 and must endure four more before reaching its target. The mission's resilience underscores the spacecraft's robust engineering as it continues its critical journey.