NASA has successfully brought its first piece of asteroid back to Earth as the OSIRIS-REx mission released its capsule containing a sample obtained from the asteroid Bennu on Sunday.
OSIRIS-REx has “brought something extraordinary: the largest asteroid sample ever received on Earth,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said on NASA TV.
“It’s going to help scientists investigate planet formation, it’s going to improve our understanding of asteroids that could possibly impact the Earth, and it’ll deepen our understanding of the origin of our solar system and its formation. This mission proves that NASA does big things — things that inspire us, things that unite us. Things that show that nothing is beyond our reach.”
The sample touched down in the Utah desert on Sunday, September 24. After that, it was gathered and brought to a temporary clean room. It will then be transported to the Johnson Space Centre in Houston where it will be opened and examined.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was launched in 2016 and reached the asteroid Bennu in 2018. After arriving, it entered orbit around the asteroid to conduct close-up research.
The asteroid was discovered to be only hazily held together, to be blasting out plumes of debris, and to be coated in rocks.
