National Aeronautics and Space Administration • Final Environmental Assessment for the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer Mission March 2013 www.nasa.gov FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA) FOR THE ORIGINS, SPECTRAL INTERPRETATION, RESOURCE IDENTIFICATION, SECURITY - REGOLITH EXPLORER (OSIRIS-REX) MISSION TITLE PAGE Lead Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Proposed Action: Preparing for and implementing the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security - Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission, including the launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida, in September 2016; sample return capsule recovery at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) in Tooele County, Utah, in September 2023; and curation of samples at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, Texas. For Further Information, Contact: Lizabeth Montgomery, GSFC NEPA Program Manager, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 250, Building 28, Room N150F, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771; Phone: (301) 286-0469;
[email protected] Date: March 2013 Abstract: The OSIRIS-REx mission would be the first U.S. mission to carry samples from an asteroid back to Earth. Asteroids are leftovers formed from the cloud of gas and dust that collapsed to form our Sun and the planets about 4.5 billion years ago. As such, they contain the original material from the solar nebula, which can inform us about the conditions during our solar system’s birth. The mission would help us investigate planet formation and the origin of life, as well as aid our understanding of asteroids that can impact Earth. NASA proposes to launch the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from CCAFS, Florida, in September 2016 on an Atlas V class launch vehicle.