NavCam Images from Orbit

During Orbital A phase, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft’s NavCam 1 navigation camera is regularly imaging Bennu’s surface, even though its scientific camera suite (OCAMS) is not collecting data. The navigation team uses these “OpNav” (short for optical navigation) images to monitor the spacecraft’s close orbit around the asteroid.

These two OpNav images of Bennu’s southern hemisphere, which each have an exposure time of about 1.4 milliseconds, were captured Jan. 17 from a distance of about one mile (1.6 km). They have been cropped and the contrast has been adjusted to better reveal surface features. The large boulder – fully visible in the middle of the left frame and in partial shadow in lower portion of right frame – is about 165 feet (50 meters) across.

Date Taken: Jan. 17, 2019

Instrument Used: TAGCAMS (NavCam 1)

Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin

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