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☆ OSIRIS-REx: A long-awaited asteroid sample has landed in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Seven years after launching to space, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft flew by Earth Sunday to deliver the pristine sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. The sample capsule, about the size of a large truck tire, and its main parachute can be seen after landing in the Utah desert. What the sample may revealDetails about the sample will be revealed through a NASA broadcast from Johnson Space Center on October 11. If a government shutdown occurs, “it will not endanger the curation and safe handling of the asteroid sample,” said Lori Glaze, director for NASA’s Planetary Sciences Division. “Scientists believe that the asteroid Bennu is representative of the solar system’s own oldest materials forged in large dying stars and supernova explosions,” Glaze said.

Persons: REx, Rich Burns, OSIRIS, Sandra Freund, Burns, ”, Dante Lauretta, Nicole Lunning, REx curation, NASA’s, Lauretta, Lori Glaze, ” Glaze Organizations: CNN, NASA, Earth Sunday, Goddard, University of Arizona, Defense Department’s Utah, Goddard Space Flight, Lockheed, Space Center, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Monday, Johnson Space Center, Canadian Space Agency, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA’s Planetary Sciences Locations: Bennu, Greenbelt , Maryland, Tucson, Utah, Houston

☆ 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

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