NASA probe capsule returns to Earth with samples from asteroid Bennu
September 24, 2023
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The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Osiris-Rex spacecraft capsule returned to Earth on Sunday, September 24, with samples of the asteroid Bennu. As reported by Ukrinform,
The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Osiris-Rex spacecraft capsule returned to Earth on Sunday, September 24, with samples of the asteroid Bennu.
As reported by Ukrinform, NASA announced this on the social network Kh.
“The Osiris-Rex sample capsule (Bennu – ed.) landed at the test site in Utah (US Department of Defense – ed.) at 17:52 after a journey of 6.2 billion kilometers,” NASA said.
The US space agency said it was the first American mission of its kind to return asteroid samples, adding that it opened “a time capsule to the beginning of our solar system.”
GOAL! #OSIRISREx The sample capsule landed at the Utah Test and Training Range at 10:52 ET (1452 UTC) after a journey of 3.86 billion miles. This marks the first US return mission of its kind and will open a time capsule to the beginning of our solar system. pic.twitter.com/N8fun14Plt
Space.com states that the Osiris-Rex space probe was launched in 2016. It reached the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 and collected samples from the surface of the near-Earth asteroid.
Video: Video from Space
As Ukrinform reported, on May 10, 2021, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) left the orbit of the asteroid Bennu to embark on its return journey to Earth.
The probe used a 3.4-meter-long robotic arm to collect dust and rock samples from the asteroid.
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