OSIRIS-REx Mission Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

Question 1. What is the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft going to study?

Credit: Canadian Space Agency

• A star
• A planet in our solar system
• An asteroid
• A planet outside of our solar system

Question 2. Why is Bennu the specific target of the OSIRIS-REx mission?

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

• Its composition
• Its size
• Its proximity to Earth
• All of the above

Question 3. What is the first thing the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft orbited?

Credit: NASA/JPL, Harman Smith, Laura Generosa

• The Sun
• The Earth
• Bennu
• The Moon

Question 4. Choose the answer that represents the operations, in the correct order, that OSIRIS-REx will perform once it nears Bennu.

Credit: NASA/GSFC

• (1) Survey the asteroid, (2) retrieve a sample and (3) send the sample capsule back to Earth
• (1) Survey the asteroid, (2) retrieve a sample, (3) send the sample capsule back to Earth and (4) stay in orbit around Mars
• (1) Survey the asteroid, (2) retrieve a sample, (3) send the sample capsule back to Earth and (4) explode
• (1) Survey the asteroid, (2) capture a Pokémon and (3) send the Pokémon back to Earth

Question 5. What sample will OSIRIS-REx bring back to Earth?

Credit: Didier Descouens

• One rock of 2,000 grams (70 ounces) or less
• Between 60 and 2,000 grams of rocks and particles
• A "scoop" of mud-like material of 2,000 grams (70 ounces) or less
• A Pokeball

Question 6. On board the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, there are instruments to accomplish three tasks: navigate, survey the asteroid and retrieve the sample. How many instruments will be used to survey the asteroid?

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

• 2
• 3
• 5
• 9

Question 7. The Canadian Space Agency contributed which instrument to the mission?

Credit: Canadian Space Agency

• TAGSAM, the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism
• OCAMS, the OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite
• OLA, the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter
• TAGCAMS, the Touch-and-Go Camera System

Question 8. OLA will scan the entire surface of Bennu to provide which valuable information to the mission's scientists?

Credit: NASA/NSF/Cornell/Nolan

• The asteroid's topography
• The distribution of boulders, rocks and other surface features
• The asteroid's shape
• All of the above

Question 9. How much time will OLA spend scanning the surface of the asteroid?

Credit: MDA

• Two months
• Four months
• Six months
• One year

Question 10. How long will the OSIRIS-REx mission last, from launch to the return of the sample to Earth?

Credit: NASA/NGSFC/UA

• 9 years or more
• 8 years
• 7 years
• 6 years or less