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IMAGE: This artist's concept shows the planned flight path of NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft during its final flyby of asteroid Bennu, which is scheduled for April 7.
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Credit: Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is on the brink of discovering the extent of the mess it made on asteroid Bennu's surface during last fall's sample collection event. On Apr. 7, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will get one last close encounter with Bennu as it performs a final flyover to capture images of the asteroid's surface. While performing the flyover, the spacecraft will observe Bennu from a distance of about 2.3 miles (3.7 km) - the closest it's been since the Touch-and-Go Sample Collection event on Oct. 20, 2020.