Introduction
On October 20, NASA touched an asteroid for the first time in its history. Located about 334 million kilometers from Earth, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made contact with the surface of an asteroid named Bennu, with the goal of collecting a sample of dust and gravel. NASA is expected to know within a week if it was successful in collecting the materials. If the operation is successful, the spacecraft will return the carbon-rich debris to Earth, where scientists can explore it for clues about the history of the solar system.
Updates
The story was updated on October 20, 2020, to confirm that the mission successfully touched the surface of Bennu and will now assess the amount of sample collected.
Citations
Lauretta, D. S. et al. Nature 568, 55–60 (2019).
Jawin, E. R. et al. J. Geophys. Res. Planets 125, e2020JE006475 (2020).
Kaplan, H. H. et al. Science https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc3557 (2020).
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