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A space capsule carrying NASA’s first asteroid samples streaked toward a touchdown in the Utah desert Sunday to cap a seven-year journey. Flying by Earth, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the capsule from 63,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) out. About a teaspoon was returned by Japan, the only other country to bring back asteroid samples. By the time it returned Sunday, the spacecraft had traveled 4 billion miles (6.2 billion kilometers). Political Cartoons View All 1176 ImagesNow free of the sample capsule, Osiris-Rex is already targeting another asteroid.

Persons: Rex, Rex rocketed Organizations: Utah, Scientists, Space Center, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Utah, Japan, Houston

☆ Watch: NASA Osiris-REx Mission Brings Home Samples From Asteroid Bennu
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Why Cities Like New York Are Adopting Congestion TollsNew Yorkers lose an average of 117 hours a year in traffic according to the MTA. Now, New York City is turning to congestion tolls to help unclog its roads. WSJ’s George Downs explores if these tolls actually reduce traffic and whether other U.S. cities will adopt them. Illustration: George Downs/The Wall Street Journal

Persons: George Downs Organizations: MTA, Street Locations: New, , New York City

☆ How to Watch NASA Bring Asteroid Samples Home From Space
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Katrina Miller | More About Katrina Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Sunday morning, a brown-and-white capsule will shoot through Earth’s atmosphere to drop off a cache of pristine space rock to a team of eagerly waiting scientists and engineers. If successful, the sample return will be the end of a seven-year mission by NASA called OSIRIS-REX — which stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resources Identification and Security-Regolith Explorer — that launched in 2016. When will OSIRIS-REX drop off the sample and how can I watch? NASA will livestream the arrival on its YouTube channel starting around 10 a.m. Earlier on Sunday, the OSIRIS-REX command team conducted what they call a go-or-no-go poll to determine whether the spacecraft would release the capsule.

Organizations: NASA, YouTube Locations: Utah, Salt Lake City

☆ NASA scientists plan to bake, slice, and fire lasers at the asteroid sample from OSIRIS-REx to understand the creation of our solar system
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is scheduled to deliver a return capsule with asteroid dust on Sunday. Scientists hope to study the asteroid dust and dirt in every way possible. After nearly three years, NASA's OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to finally deliver the largest asteroid sample ever to the Utah desert at approximately 10:55 a.m. That's right, an asteroid sample is headed for Earth. A rotating mosaic of asteroid Bennu, composed of images captured by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft over a four-hour period.

Persons: NASA's, REx, Noah Petro, Petro, Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS, Lauretta, NASA's OSIRIS, University of Arizona Lauretta, Lori Glaze, they'll Organizations: Service, Empire, NASA's Goddard Space, NASA, Goddard, University of Arizona, Planetary Science, JPL, Caltech Locations: Utah, Wall, Silicon

☆ NASA's first asteroid sample on track for Sunday parachute landing in Utah
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreLOS ANGELES, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A NASA space capsule carrying a sample of rocky material plucked from the surface of an asteroid three years ago hurtled toward Earth this weekend headed for a fiery plunge through the atmosphere and a parachute landing in the Utah desert on Sunday. OSIRIS-REx collected its specimen from Bennu, a carbon-rich asteroid discovered in 1999 and classified as a "near-Earth object" because it passes relatively close to our planet every six years. The Bennu sample is estimated at 250 grams (8.8 ounces), far surpassing the amount of material carried back from asteroid Ryugu in 2020 and asteroid Itokawa in 2010. The main portion of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, meanwhile, is expected to sail on to explore yet another near-Earth asteroid. Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles, Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: REx, Sandra Freund, Lockheed Martin, Dante Lauretta, NASA's, Steve Gorman, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: United Launch Alliance, V, Cape Canaveral Air Force, NASA, Lockheed, University of Arizona, Empire, NASA's Johnson Space Center, Thomson Locations: Florida, U.S, ANGELES, Utah, military's, Salt Lake City, Tucson, Houston, Los Angeles

☆ A 7-year journey to deliver an asteroid sample to Earth will soon end in Utah
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The cargo van-size spacecraft arrived in orbit around the asteroid Bennu in December 2018, providing detailed views of the spinning top-shaped space rock. Other worldsA training model of the OSIRIS-REx mission's sample return capsule was released from an aircraft in August, simulating the upcoming recovery operations. Keegan Barber/NASAThe OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will fly by Earth this weekend and drop off its precious sample from Bennu. Watch as the sample capsule is set to plunge through Earth’s atmosphere and land in the Utah desert, with NASA’s live coverage beginning at 10 a.m. As the capsule parachutes down, OSIRIS-REx will keep going, embarking on a new adventure to explore the asteroid Apophis.

Persons: CNN —, REx, NASA’s, Keegan Barber, ”, Deutsches, Monopoly, you’re, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Rice University in Texas, Mechanical, Zimbabwe, Bochum, Iron, Swedish Museum of, Publishing, Andromeda Galaxy, CNN Space, Science Locations: Utah, Dürrnberg, Austria, Austrian, Zambia, Tasmania, Stockholm, Western Australia

☆ An amateur astronomer caught one of the brightest fireballs ever seen on Jupiter. Watch the rare video footage.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Maiya Focht | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

About 14 seconds into the video below, you can see a bright flash appear in Jupiter's southern hemisphere. AdvertisementAdvertisementOne of the brightest, biggest Jupiter fireballs ever recordedKo Arimatsu, an astronomer at Kyoto University, confirmed to The New York Times that there were six reports of this flash on August 28. AdvertisementAdvertisementA fragment of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impacts Jupiter’s night side in 1994. Jupiter is the 'vacuum cleaner of the solar system'As the largest planet in our solar system, by far, Jupiter has a powerful gravity that pulls in comets and asteroids. In fact, Jupiter's appetite for asteroids and comets has earned it the nickname "vacuum cleaner of the solar system," according to NASA.

Persons: Tadao Ohsugi, It's, Arimatsu, Shoemaker, Levy, Peter Vereš, NASA's OSIRIS, NASA's, Leigh Fletcher Organizations: Service, Kyoto University, The New York Times, TNT, NASA, ESA, Space Science Institute, Jupiter, JPL Arimatsu, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, NASA's Goddard Space Flight, University of Arizona, University of Leicester, Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, Japan, Boulder, Colo, Siberia

☆ NASA scientists calculated the exact date an asteroid could hit Earth with the force of at least 24 nuclear bombs. Thankfully, it's a long way off.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Asteroid Bennu has a slim chance of hitting our planet on September 24, 2182, NASA said. It would release as much energy as about 24 nuclear bombs, so NASA is keeping a close eye on it. Dust grabbed from the asteroid by NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft is due to arrive on Earth on Sunday. NASA scientists are keeping a close eye on asteroid Bennu, a 1,610-foot-wide cosmic object that could smash into our planet. Bennu was photographed under all angles by NASA's Osiris-Rex mission.

Persons: NASA's Osiris, Tsar Bomba, NASA's, — it's, there's, Bennu, Rex Organizations: NASA, Service, Empire, Eiffel, NASA's Goddard Space Flight, University of Arizona NASA, NASA's Goddard Space Locations: Wall, Silicon, Bennu, Chelyabinsk, Russia, Utah

☆ An asteroid sample is about to land on Earth. Here’s what to expect
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —When the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft swings by Earth on Sunday, it is expected to deliver a rare cosmic gift: a pristine sample collected from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. After releasing the capsule, OSIRIS-REx will continue on its tour of the solar system to capture a detailed look at a different asteroid named Apophis. Returning NASA’s first asteroid sample collected in space to Earth has been years in the making. An illustration depicts the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft as it descended toward the rocky surface of asteroid Bennu. If the spacecraft’s trajectory is on track, the sample capsule is expected to release from OSIRIS-REx 63,000 miles (102,000 kilometers) from Earth on early Sunday.

Persons: REx, Keegan Barber, Bennu, Lockheed Martin, Sandra Freund, OSIRIS, NASA’s, Johnson, ”, Dante Lauretta Organizations: CNN, NASA, Department of Defense's Utah, Goddard, University of Arizona, TAG, Apollo, Lockheed, Lockheed Martin Space, Defense Department’s Utah, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Johnson Space Center, Canadian Space Agency, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency Locations: Utah, Cape Canaveral, Bennu, Houston, Tucson

The sample capsule will parachute into the Utah desert as its mothership, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft, zooms off for an encounter with another asteroid. The asteroid samples will be handled inside nitrogen-purging gloveboxes by staff in head-to-toe clean room suits. ASTEROID AUTUMNThis fall is what NASA is calling Asteroid Autumn, with three asteroid missions marking major milestones. Both the NASA spacecraft and its target — a metal asteroid — are named Psyche. Japan’s first asteroid sample mission returned microscopic grains from asteroid Itokawa in 2010.

Persons: —, ”, University of Arizona’s Dante Lauretta, Rex, Bennu, Lauretta, NASA’s, Johnson, Kevin Righter, Lucy Organizations: NASA, University of Arizona’s, Empire, Defense Department’s Utah, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Apollo, Soviet Union, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Utah, Japan, Bennu, Colorado, Houston, Antarctica, Cape Canaveral , Florida, U.S, China

☆ How NASA has prepared to scoop up an asteroid sample landing in the desert
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —An asteroid sample stowed inside a NASA spacecraft is about to reach Earth after traveling for nearly 2½ years across space. It’s NASA’s first time collecting and returning an asteroid sample from space. Teams have been rehearsing how to retrieve the sample, originally collected from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, when it drops down into the Utah desert on September 24. Keegan Barber/NASAThe mission’s original goal was to retrieve a pristine asteroid sample. The team has also prepared for different landing scenarios, such as a hard landing where the capsule containing the sample opens unexpectedly.

Persons: NASA’s, REx, ”, Nicola Fox, ” It’s, Keegan Barber, Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS, “, Rich Burns, ” Burns, Burns, Sandra Freund, Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Freund, Molly Wasser, Kevin Righter, curation, Christopher Snead, ” Snead, ” Lauretta Organizations: CNN, NASA, Goddard, University of Arizona, Department of Defense's Utah, Department of Defense’s Utah, Goddard Space Flight, Lockheed, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Space, Apollo, Space Center, Canadian Space Agency, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency Locations: Utah, Bennu, Tucson, Salt Lake City, Greenbelt , Maryland, Houston, Johnson

☆ Adam Driver asked NASA how it plans to save Earth from world-ending asteroids
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Don't worry about such a large asteroid — an extinction-level space rock — approaching Earth anytime soon, NASA astronomer Kelly Fast was quick to clarify. NASA is studying and tracking down near-Earth asteroidsFast added that NASA's approach to any asteroid would depend on the asteroid's size and composition. Another NASA mission, called Osiris-Rex, landed on the surface of an asteroid in 2020 and scooped up its rocky space dust. Even though Driver and Fast didn't discuss that mission, the actor seemed impressed with NASA's efforts. "Thank you for your work in keeping the planet safe from world-ending asteroids plummeting into our planet," Driver said.

☆ Asteroid discovery suggests ingredients for life on Earth came from space
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] The carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu is seen from a distance of about 12 miles (20 km) during the Japanese Space Agency's Hayabusa2 mission on June 30, 2018. Scientists said on Tuesday they detected uracil and niacin in rocks obtained by the Japanese Space Agency's Hayabusa2 spacecraft from two sites on Ryugu in 2019. Scientists long have pondered about the conditions necessary for life to arise after Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago. "It was directly sampled on the asteroid Ryugu and returned to Earth, and finally to laboratories without any contact with terrestrial contaminants." The U.S. space agency NASA during its OSIRIS-REx mission collected samples in 2020 from the asteroid Bennu.

☆ NASA's asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft nears planned impact with its target
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft prior to impact at the Didymos binary asteroid system showed in this undated illustration handout. NASA/Johns Hopkins/Handout via REUTERSSept 26 (Reuters) - Ten months after launch, NASA's asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft neared a planned impact with its target on Monday in a test of the world's first planetary defense system, designed to prevent a doomsday collision with Earth. Neither object presents any actual threat to Earth, and NASA scientists said their DART test cannot create a new existential hazard by mistake. Also, their relative proximity to Earth and dual-asteroid configuration make them ideal for the first proof-of-concept mission of DART, short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test. ROBOTIC SUICIDE MISSIONThe mission represents a rare instance in which a NASA spacecraft must ultimately crash to succeed.

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