NASA’s OSIRIS-REx has successfully marked an impressive feat as its capsule safely touched down Sunday morning, carrying valuable samples collected from the asteroid Bennu.
OSIRIS-REx marked the conclusion of an extraordinary odyssey spanning approximately four billion miles over the course of seven years. These invaluable samples from the asteroid Bennu were meticulously collected by OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which executed a precise maneuver by flying near Earth in the early hours of Sunday morning. The spacecraft then released the capsule, which descended to a landing zone located in the Utah desert. It was reported that the capsule landed at 8:52 a.m. MT, three minutes ahead of the scheduled landing time.
OSIRIS-REx embarked on a journey from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida back in September 2016, and boarded a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. This started the two-year odyssey with a destination set for the 1,720-foot wide asteroid known as 101955 Bennu. When the team touched down in Bennu’s vicinity in August 2018, the spacecraft dedicated another two years to closely study the asteroid’s surface.
Upon the successful completion of its comprehensive study, the spacecraft approached the surface of asteroid Bennu to retrieve samples. In 2021, once the samples from Bennu were securely stored in a return capsule, OSIRIS-REx activated its propulsion system and began a lengthy journey spanning 1.2 billion miles back to Earth. (RELATED: NASA Predicts When Massive Asteroid Will Hit Earth. But Are They Sure?)
After its successful return, OSIRIS-REx will set sail on another journey, this time destined for a different asteroid.