What's up in space travel?
| Asteroid Sample Return |
| NASA is poised to make a historic delivery this weekend of the biggest sample of rocks and dust from an asteroid after a seven-year mission in space. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will fly by Earth Sunday to drop off a capsule—containing the roughly half-a-pound sample from the asteroid Bennu—near Dugway, Utah. If successful, it will be the first US mission to return an asteroid sample to Earth. Livestream the event here (10 am ET). The craft launched in 2016, arrived at Bennu in 2018, and orbited the asteroid for two years as it took measurements and searched for a landing spot. In 2020, the craft grabbed a sample of Bennu in a "touch and go" move and began its return to Earth in 2021. Bennu—whose diameter is roughly the height of the Empire State building—cricles the sun in orbit roughly between Earth and Mars (see overview). Studying its composition may reveal insights into the early formation of the solar system from nearly 4.5 billion years ago—something not possible with meteorites, which get contaminated during their fall to Earth. OSIRIS-REx will explore the asteroid Apophis next. NASA will launch two more asteroid missions this fall. |
