Procedures are being refined to ensure the safe recovery of samples from asteroid Bennu when they are returned to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on 24 September.
OSIRIS-REx was so successful capturing samples from the surface of asteroid Bennu that engineers moved up plans to stow the material for return to Earth.
OSIRIS-REx kicked up a storm of rocky debris during its dramatic 20 October attempt to snag samples from the asteroid Bennu. Frames from a stop-action movie provide a bird’s eye view.
Researchers with NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission have selected four possible sample collection sites on the asteroid Bennu. The team plans to narrow that down to two in December.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft slipped into a record-close orbit of the asteroid Bennu on New Year’s Eve, setting the stage for exceedingly close-range observations.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, closing in on asteroid Bennu, has sent back photos showing a body remarkably similar in appearance to the asteroid Ryugu being studied by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has captured its first images of asteroid Bennu at a range of 2.2 million kilometres (4.1 million miles); the probe will slip into orbit around Bennu on New Year’s Eve to kick off a sample-return mission