NASA's OSIRIS-REx headed back to Earth with asteroid rubble


OSIRIS-REx made history last fall when it touched down on the asteroid Bennu, and now, the NASA spacecraft is on its way back to Earth with some souvenirs from the trip.
OSIRIS-REx started the two-year journey back home on Monday, carrying rubble it collected from the surface of Bennu, an asteroid believed to be as tall as the Empire State Building and 4.5 billion years old. This was NASA's first mission to try to get a piece of an asteroid, and principal scientist Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona told The Associated Press it is estimated that OSIRIS-REx is holding between half a pound and a pound of rubble — much more than the goal of two ounces.
The spacecraft was launched in September 2016, and orbited Bennu for two years, sending back "new and exciting images and data," Lauretta said. The samples are set to arrive in a capsule dropping in Utah on Sept. 24, 2023, and the rubble could help scientists better understand how planets were formed and life began on Earth. Catherine Garcia
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play