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Delivery From Space

February 12, 2024
By Nell Durfee

NASA/GODDARD/UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

INCOMING CAPSULE! In September 2023, a capsule containing a sample from the asteroid Bennu hurtled toward Earth.

On September 24, 2023, NASA scientists eagerly waited in the Utah desert for a special delivery—from space. They cheered as a capsule parachuted to the ground carrying the largest sample ever taken from an asteroid, or space rock.

The sample was collected by OSIRIS-REx, a spacecraft that was launched seven years earlier on a 320 million kilometer (200 million mile) journey to the asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft briefly touched down on the asteroid, gathered debris from its surface, and then sent the precious cargo to Earth.

NASA/KEEGAN BARBER

SAFE LANDING: After landing in the Utah desert, the capsule was quickly transported to a lab in Texas.

So far, scientists studying the sample have discovered that it contains carbon and water, which are essential for life. This suggests that these important substances may have arrived on Earth when asteroids similar to Bennu crashed into the planet long ago. 

The sample could reveal other insights about the early formation of our solar system as well. “There is still so much science to come—science like we’ve never seen before,” says Bill Nelson, the administrator of NASA.

NASA

GATHERING DUST: Researchers opened the capsule to reveal samples of asteroid dust.

BENNU SIZE COMPARISON

In 1999, NASA scientists discovered Bennu, a small asteroid in our solar system. This graph compares Bennu’s size with some famous landmarks. How much larger is Bennu than the Empire State Building?

NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER/CI LAB (BENNU GRAPH); SHUTTERSTOCK.COM (STATUE OF LIBERTY, EIFFEL TOWER, EMPIRE STATE BUILDING)

SOURCES: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, NASA, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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