Geophysical Observations of the 2023 September 24 OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule Reentry

Abstract Sample return capsules (SRCs) entering Earth’s atmosphere at hypervelocity from interplanetary space are a valuable resource for studying meteor phenomena. The 2023 September 24 arrival of the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer SRC provided an unprecedented chance for geophysical observations of a well-characterized source with known parameters, including timing and trajectory. A collaborative effort involving researchers from 16 institutions executed a carefully planned geophysical observational campaign at strategically chosen locations, deploying over 400 ground-based sensors encompassing infrasound, seismic, distributed acoustic sensing, and Global Positioning System technologies. Additionally, balloons equipped with infrasound sensors were launched to capture signals at higher altitudes. This campaign (the largest of its kind so far) yielded a wealth of invaluable data anticipated to fuel scientific inquiry for years to come. The success of the observational campaign is evidenced by the near-universal detection of signals across instruments, both proximal and distal. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the collective scientific effort, field deployment, and preliminary findings. The early findings have the potential to inform future space missions and terrestrial campaigns, contributing to our understanding of meteoroid interactions with planetary atmospheres. Furthermore, the data set collected during this campaign will improve entry and propagation models and augment the study of atmospheric dynamics and shock phenomena generated by meteoroids and similar sources.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Planetary Science Journal
Published
2024-09-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/psj/ad5b5e
Citations
24
Primary Topic
Astro and Planetary Science
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
7.96

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article

Geophysical Observations of the 2023 September 24 OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule Reentry

Kenneth L. Cummins, Loïc Viens, Charles A. Langston, Philip Blom et al.
24 citations
The Planetary Science Journal
Astro and Planetary Science
7.96
article

Geophysical Observations of the 2023 September 24 OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule Reentry

Kenneth L. Cummins, Loïc Viens, Charles A. Langston, Philip Blom, Miro Ronac Giannone, Jay D Hix, Yasuhiro Nishikawa, Zachary Yap, C. Carr, Jacob F. Anderson, Brian R. Elbing, Real J. KC, Brian P. Williams, Stephen Arrowsmith, Carly M. Donahue, Douglas G. Fox, Richard D. Lewis, K. Eack, Jamey Jacob, R. Steven Turley, Siddharth Krishnamoorthy, Sarah K. Popenhagen, Daniel Bowman, Emalee Hough, Chris Hayward, Trevor C. Wilson, Benjamin Fernando, Jeremy Webster, Elizabeth A. Silber, N. C. Schmerr, Cleat Zeiler, Kate Spillman, Jennifer Inman, Léo Martire, K. W. Lewis, David P. Huber, J. A. Cutts, Milton Garcés, Amitabh Nag, Luis A Ocampo Giraldo, Jordan W. Bishop, James T. Johnson, H. K. Rassoul, Luke Beardslee, David P. Eisenberg, Jacob Izraelevitz, Anthony Christe, R. A. Haaser, Tyler Yoshiyama, David L. Chichester, Samuel Kei Takazawa, J.W. Clarke, Yuta Hasumi, Meaghan McCleary, Sonia Bazargan, Mirza Samnani, Owen A. Walsh, Grant Bracht, Michael Fleigle, Ipsita Mitra, Alex Tempert, Cory Van beek, Shirin Wyckoff, David Green, Ashish Goel, Karen Pearson, Masa-yuki Yamamoto, Girish Srinivas, Robert White, Justin LaPierre, Mathieu N. Plaisir, Brant Beck, Madeline A. Hunt, E A McGhee, Eric P. Lam, L. R. Danielson, Stephen P. Horton, Patrick Liu, Syed Islam, Attila Komjathy, N.D. Weinstein, Dan Hicks
article en
24 citations

Abstract

Abstract Sample return capsules (SRCs) entering Earth’s atmosphere at hypervelocity from interplanetary space are a valuable resource for studying meteor phenomena. The 2023 September 24 arrival of the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer SRC provided an unprecedented chance for geophysical observations of a well-characterized source with known parameters, including timing and trajectory. A collaborative effort involving researchers from 16 institutions executed a carefully planned geophysical observational campaign at strategically chosen locations, deploying over 400 ground-based sensors encompassing infrasound, seismic, distributed acoustic sensing, and Global Positioning System technologies. Additionally, balloons equipped with infrasound sensors were launched to capture signals at higher altitudes. This campaign (the largest of its kind so far) yielded a wealth of invaluable data anticipated to fuel scientific inquiry for years to come. The success of the observational campaign is evidenced by the near-universal detection of signals across instruments, both proximal and distal. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the collective scientific effort, field deployment, and preliminary findings. The early findings have the potential to inform future space missions and terrestrial campaigns, contributing to our understanding of meteoroid interactions with planetary atmospheres. Furthermore, the data set collected during this campaign will improve entry and propagation models and augment the study of atmospheric dynamics and shock phenomena generated by meteoroids and similar sources.

The Planetary Science JournalVol. 5(9)
Florida Institute of Technology (US), Oklahoma State University (US), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US), Boise State University (US), United States Air Force Research Laboratory (US), Langley Research Center (US), United States Department of Defense (US), University of Hawaii System (US), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (US), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US), Los Alamos National Laboratory (US), Johns Hopkins University (US), The University of Texas at El Paso (US), Southern Methodist University (US), Idaho National Laboratory (US), AWE Nuclear Security Technologies (GB), Bowie State University (US), Kochi University of Technology (JP), TDA Research (United States) (US), Sandia National Laboratories (US), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR), Nevada National Security Site (US), University of Maryland, College Park (US), Colorado State University (US), University of Memphis (US)
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Battelle, California Institute of Technology, Colorado State University, University of Memphis, Pat Tillman Foundation, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, National Nuclear Security Administration, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, U.S. Forest Service, Laboratory Directed Research and Development, Planetary Science Division, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Eurostars
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Astro and Planetary Science
7.96
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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