NASA's asteroid-sampling OSIRIS-REx probe will head back to Earth in May
Engadget
1/27/2021
Mariella Moon
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will soon bid asteroid Bennu farewell. NASA has announced that OSIRIS-REx will start its journey back to our planet on May 10th, two-and-a-half years after it rendezvoused with the near-Earth asteroid. The agency launched the spacecraft back in 2016 to collect samples from Bennu in hopes that analyzing the materials could give us more insight into the formation of the Solar System and into the beginning of life here on Earth.
OSIRIS-REx observed the asteroid’s surface for months after the rendezvous to find the perfect site for sample collection. In October 2020, it finally touched the space rock’s surface just long enough to scoop up samples of regolith that scientists can examine. In fact, it grabbed more than the mission’s requirement of 60 grams, which is why the sample container started leaking and NASA had to speed up the process to secure it.