2023 OSIRIS-REx
Commemorates the return of OSIRIS-REx, the first spacecraft to collect a sample from an asteroid
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Value: First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: September 22, 2023
First Day City: Salt Lake City, Utah
Quantity Issued: 18,000,000
Printed by: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method: Offset, Microprint
Format: Panes of 20
Tagging: Nonphosphored type III, block tagged
Why the stamp was issued: To celebrate the return of OSIRIS-REx to Earth after it successfully became the first spacecraft to collect a sample from an asteroid. It’s hoped that scientists’ findings will provide valuable insight into the formation of our solar system.
About the stamp design: Pictures an artist’s rendition of the capsule containing the asteroid sample parachuting to Earth in the desert of Utah Test and Training Range. Illustration by Alan Dingman who used reference images from NASA to complete the stamp artwork.
Special design details: The full stamp pane includes an image of Bennu’s surface in the selvage with outer space above. The left side of the pane includes four images representing important milestones in OSIRIS-REx’s mission. The reverse side of the pane includes a NASA description of the mission and an explanation of the images.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The area in which OSIRIS-REx’s capsule landed is about 80 miles west of Salt Lake City.
History the stamp represents: In 2023, the USPS issued a Forever stamp commemorating the return of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx. The goal of this seven-year mission was to study and map the asteroid Bennu and bring samples back to Earth for analysis. OSIRIS-REx stands for the goals of Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft launched from Earth on September 8, 2016. It took the spacecraft two years to reach asteroid Bennu, arriving in December 2018. The spacecraft was about the size of a large van and was equipped with specialized cameras, spectrometers, and instruments to collect samples.
OSIRIS-REx spent nearly two years photographing and mapping Bennu’s surface, searching for potential sample sites. In October 2020, it carried out its most important task – collecting a sample to bring back to Earth. To do this, the spacecraft “…used a touch-and-go maneuver, extending a robotic arm to release a puff of nitrogen gas once near the surface.” This sent up a cloud of debris, which was then collected by a special device. Over two ounces of material was gathered, though some got stuck in the flaps, meaning a portion slowly escaped on its return flight. It was still the largest sample ever retrieved from an asteroid and the first taken by the US.
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