OSIRIS-REx launched in 2016, landing on Bennu in 2018 and returning in 2023
The craft took off from the asteroid successfully and is heading back to Earth
It collected 2.1 ounces of rock and dust from the surface of the large asteroid
These samples will be dropped in the Utah desert for scientists to study
NASA scientists say the rocks should help reveal secrets of the early solar system as asteroids such as Bennu formed alongside planets like the Earth
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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Heads for Earth with Asteroid Sample
After nearly five years in space, NASAs Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft is on its way back to Earth with an abundance of rocks and dust from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
On Monday, May 10, at 4:23p.m. EDT the spacecraft fired its main engines full throttle for seven minutes its most significant maneuver since it arrived at Bennu in 2018. This burn thrust the spacecraft away from the asteroid at 600 miles per hour (nearly 1,000 kilometers per hour), setting it on a 2.5-year cruise towards Earth.
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NASA invites the public and the media to watch its first asteroid sample return mission begin a two-year cruise home at 4 p.m. EDT Monday, May 10, on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. The public can follow along on the NASA Solar System Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts using #ToBennuAndBack, and ask questions about the mission by commenting on an Instagram story between 12 p.m. EDT, May 10 and 12 p.m. EDT, May 11. Answers will post to NASA Solar System’s Instagram stories on May 11.
Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) is the first NASA mission to visit a near-Earth asteroid, survey the surface, and collect a sample to deliver to Earth. During the broadcast, scientists will reveal new imagery from the mission’s final flyover of the asteroid Bennu and discuss the tense moments from the sample grab in October 2020. The broadcast also will cover how the team engineered its way ou
osiris-rex departure.png
This illustration shows the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft departing asteroid Bennu to begin its two-year journey back to Earth.
Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
NASA invites the public and the media to watch its first asteroid sample return mission begin a two-year cruise home at 4 p.m. EDT Monday, May 10, on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agencys website. The public can follow along on the NASA Solar System Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts using #ToBennuAndBack, and ask questions about the mission by commenting on an Instagram story between 12 p.m. EDT, May 10 and 12 p.m. EDT, May 11. Answers will post to NASA Solar Systems Instagram stories on May 11.