[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 190 (Monday, December 3, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA-LED NASA MISSION OF OSIRIS-REx ARRIVAL 
                                AT BENNU

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 3, 2018

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of University of 
Arizona-led NASA mission of spacecraft OSIRIS-REx and its successful 
arrival at the asteroid Bennu. Launched two years ago, the Origins, 
Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith 
Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission is the first of its kind with a goal of 
returning a sample of the asteroid to Earth. Over the next year, the 
spacecraft will fly within close proximity of Bennu, map its surface, 
and use highly specialized instruments to collect a small sample from 
the asteroid that will be returned to Earth in 2023. This mission will 
aid scientists in investigating the most fundamental questions of our 
universe--namely how planets formed and how life began. Further, 
OSIRIS-REx will improve our understanding of asteroids that have the 
potential to impact Earth.
  OSIRIS-REx will also determine Bennu's physical and chemical 
properties, which will be critical to know in the event of an impact 
mitigation mission. Asteroids like Bennu contain natural resources such 
as water, organics, and precious metals. In the future, these asteroids 
may one day fuel the exploration of the solar system by robotic and 
manned spacecraft.
  I am extremely proud that Tucson is once again a key player in a 
critical NASA mission, just as it has been with many others throughout 
our Nation's history. OSIRIS-REx is an $800 million University of 
Arizona-led NASA mission and it's traveling to Bennu because its 
regolith may record the earliest history of our solar system. 
Discovered in 1999, Bennu is relatively close to Earth with an orbit 
that crosses ours every six years. These close encounters give Bennu a 
high probability of impacting Earth in the late 22nd century. Data 
collected from this mission will help predict Bennu's movements and 
identify ways to deflect asteroids in the future. Among all the 
asteroids in space, Bennu was also selected because it is large enough 
that a spacecraft can safely come in contact with it to collect 
samples. Its diameter is wider than the height of the Empire State 
Building. By contrast, however, Bennu will be the smallest object ever 
to be orbited by a spacecraft.
  The most unique aspect of the OSIRIS-REx mission is the large and 
pristine sample that will be brought back to Earth, which will allow 
scientists to research the origins of our universe and galaxy and help 
us answer some of the most profound and fundamental questions that have 
intrigued mankind since our beginnings. The OSIRIS-REx mission is 
funded by NASA and its science is led by the University of Arizona 
(UA). I would like to once again congratulate Dr. Dante Lauretta of the 
UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory for his leadership as principal 
investigator and, along with his team, for bringing this exciting 
mission to the launch stage. I understand that Dante has been working 
on this concept for the last 15 years, and I greatly look forward to 
celebrating even more milestones with his team as the mission 
progresses. This mission is the latest in a long list of achievements 
by scientists at the University of Arizona in my home district. In 
fact, UA scientists have collaborated in every single American mission 
to the Moon and Mars since 1964, including serving as the lead on the 
Phoenix Mars Mission.
  The University of Arizona will house mission science operations 
control, as it did for the Phoenix Mars mission, continuing to involve 
undergraduate and graduate students in the research over--150 students 
so far, which will help cultivate the next generation of STEM leaders--
many of whom will be from my home state of Arizona. I wish the OSIRIS 
REx team the best of luck in their historic mission and congratulate 
them in their profound success.

                          ____________________