A Unique Observation: Optical Fibers Capture the Return of a Space Capsule to Earth
In a groundbreaking scientific achievement, a team of researchers has successfully recorded the geophysical effects caused by a capsule’s reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Led by Dr. Carly Donahue from the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States, the researchers utilized Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) technology for the first time to capture these effects as the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission re-entered the atmosphere.
The capsule, which returned to Earth on September 24, 2023, was part of NASA’s mission to collect samples from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, contributing to new discoveries about the early solar system.
What makes this study particularly remarkable is the unprecedented use of DAS technology to monitor a capsule’s atmospheric reentry. Previously, research relied mainly on seismic and acoustic sensors. However, thanks to prior knowledge of the capsule’s trajectory and entry timing, Dr. Donahue’s team was able to seize this rare opportunity to record the acoustic signals generated as the capsule pierced through the atmosphere at extreme speeds.
The researchers deployed a network of distributed acoustic sensors and fiber optic cables spanning over 12 kilometers in the Nevada desert, alongside conventional seismic and acoustic sensors. The results clearly demonstrated how the sound produced by the capsule’s impact was influenced by the region’s uneven terrain.
Dr. Donahue emphasized that these findings could pave the way for a deeper understanding of the effects of meteoroids and asteroids entering Earth’s atmosphere. By utilizing a dense network of sensors, scientists could improve methods for estimating the trajectories and sizes of incoming space objects, enhancing the accuracy of future predictions.
NASA’s mission does not end here. The next phase of the OSIRIS-REx project is already underway, with the spacecraft set to embark on another journey in 2029 to study the asteroid Apophis.
