NASA Successfully Collects Asteroid Sample Thanks to OSIRIS-REx Capsule

The NASA OSIRIS-REx capsule successfully delivered the first U.S. sample of rocks and dust from the asteroid Bennu.

Why NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission Matters

The OSIRIS-REx mission was launched in 2016, since then the spacecraft has been collecting asteroid materials around the solar system. The science capsule traveled 1.2 billion miles from the asteroid Bennu.

The sample obtained from Bennu is considered one of the greatest collection of sample as it could be a remnant of the early stage of the solar system. Scientists will utilize the samples to further understand and discover things during those early days.

"We really want to understand - the things that are used in biology today, like amino acids that make proteins and nucleic acids that make up our genes - were they formed in ancient asteroid bodies and delivered to the Earth from outer space?" OSIRIS-REx principal investigator Dante Lauretta told The Verge.

OSIRIS-REx Successful Delivery and Recovery

The capsule landed safely in the Utah dessert on September 24 and was deployed with two parachutes during its descent to the Earth. NASA's team and military personnel were able to recovery the capsule for the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range.

The team will transport the capsule to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston where it will be opened. The analysis will also start once the capsule is successfully in NASA.

OSIRIS-REx will continue its space journey and will try to collect a sample from the asteroid Apophis in 2029. While Apophis was dubbed as threat to Earth, many scientist are now open to see what valuable insights the rock has to offer in the space discovery.