The largest sample ever collected from an asteroid in space. This is the first opportunity for NASA.
Seven years after the mission’s launch, NASA’s capsule landed in the Utah desert on Sunday after reentering Earth’s atmosphere.
“Touchdown of the Osiris-Rex sample return capsule. A billion-mile journey to return with asteroid Bennu has ended,” said a commentator on NASA’s live video webcast of the landing.
The US space agency estimates the sample collected from Bennu in 2020 will contain about 250 grams (nine ounces) of material, which is more than the two previous asteroid samples brought back by Japanese missions.
