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TAGSAM or Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism is a
*17 October 2018 — TAGSAM head cover jettisoned
*25 October 2018 — Frangibolts fired, releasing the TAGSAM arm
*14 November 2018 — TAGSAM arm fully extended for the first time
*15 April 2020 — rehearsal manouvre performed by
TAGSAM SchematicTAGSAM Testing Complete: OSIRIS-REx Prepared to TAG an AsteroidAnimation of TAGSAM head cover being jettisoned
OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft instruments
robotic arm
A robotic arm is a type of mechanical arm, usually programmable, with similar functions to a human arm; the arm may be the sum total of the mechanism or may be part of a more complex robot. The links of such a manipulator are connected by join ...
on the OSIRIS-REx
OSIRIS-REx was a NASA asteroid-study and sample-return mission that visited and collected samples from 101955 Bennu, a C-type asteroid, carbonaceous near-Earth object, near-Earth asteroid. The material, returned in September 2023, is expected ...
space probe designed and used for collecting a sample from asteroid 101955 Bennu
101955 Bennu ( provisional designation ) is a carbonaceous asteroid in the Apollo group discovered by the LINEAR Project on 11 September 1999. It is a potentially hazardous object that is listed on the Sentry Risk Table and has the second hig ...
. OSIRIS-REx was launched in 2016. It arrived at asteroid Bennu in August 2018, and began scientific studies. It collected a sample of the material making up the surface of Bennu in 2020 and returned it to Earth in 2023.
Overview
TAGSAM is a robotic arm attached to the main body of the spacecraft that collects a sample from the asteroid, and puts the samples into the Earth return vehicle. Bennu is about 500 meters in diameter and has very low gravity, so the arm must perform the collection in near zero gravity, yet still contend with some gravitational forces from the asteroid. One issue with small asteroids is their unique gravitational environment, and Bennu became the smallest body orbited by a spacecraft. TAGSAM was designed to take up to three samples from the asteroid, although in the event the first sample was so large no other samples were attempted. The collection head was filled using anitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...
gas injection that stired up the regolith
Regolith () is a blanket of unconsolidated, loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering solid rock. It includes dust, broken rocks, and other related materials and is present on Earth, the Moon, Mars, some asteroids, and other terrestria ...
. The arm is about long, with three joints for articulation. SamCam acquires images of the collection head. Two major parts of TAGSAM are the robotic arm and the sample collection head.
The arm was used in conjunction with several instruments on the spacecraft including three cameras, three spectrometers, and a laser altimeter.
Two identical TAGSAM units were made, one for use on the spacecraft called the ''flight unit'', and another for testing on Earth called the ''qualification unit''.
Timeline
*17 October 2018 — TAGSAM head cover jettisoned
*25 October 2018 — Frangibolts fired, releasing the TAGSAM arm
*14 November 2018 — TAGSAM arm fully extended for the first time
*15 April 2020 — rehearsal manouvre performed by OSIRIS-REx
OSIRIS-REx was a NASA asteroid-study and sample-return mission that visited and collected samples from 101955 Bennu, a C-type asteroid, carbonaceous near-Earth object, near-Earth asteroid. The material, returned in September 2023, is expected ...
*20 October 2020 — successful TAGSAM deployment and sample collection
*24 September 2023 — safe touchdown on Earth of the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule
See also
*CAESAR
Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...
*Sample-return mission
A sample-return mission is a spacecraft mission to collect and return samples from an extraterrestrial location to Earth for analysis. Sample-return missions may bring back merely atoms and molecules or a deposit of complex compounds such as lo ...
References
External links
{{Commons category, Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM)TAGSAM Schematic
OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft instruments