NEWTOWN, Conn. - The Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft was selected for the third New Frontiers mission in May 2011. The University of Arizona will lead the team, while Lockheed Martin has been selected as the prime contractor to build the $800 million spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx will launch in 2016 and is expected to reach the Bennu asteroid, formerly known as Asteroid 1999 RQ36, in 2019. The spacecraft will spend a year mapping the surface, and then will use a robotic arm to collect a sample to return to Earth. OSIRIS-REx continues to make progress. In April 2014, the mission passed its critical design review (CDR), enabling Lockheed Martin to begin construction.
Funding for the New Frontiers program will also support the New Horizons and Juno missions. New Horizons is currently traveling to Pluto to study the dwarf planet and other objects in the Kuiper Belt. Juno is traveling to Jupiter to study the gas giant.
NASA currently has plans to launch a fourth New Frontiers mission. However, budget constraints have made the timeline more uncertain. Originally, NASA planned to release an announcement of opportunity (AO) in 2015 for the fourth mission. However, NASA planners now believe the AO could be delayed by at least one year. A launch is now not expected until 2023 in order to accommodate a later start and less available funding for development.
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