Returning from Bennu: The Journey's Conclusion

NASA's pioneering OSIRIS-REx mission, the agency's maiden endeavor into asteroid sample retrieval, embarked on its odyssey in September 2016 with the primary objective of exploring the near-Earth asteroid known as Bennu. In a significant milestone in October 2020, the spacecraft descended to Bennu's surface and successfully gathered approximately 250 grams of material, marking the beginning of its journey back to Earth.

Now, after two years and four months of traversing space, OSIRIS-REx is rapidly approaching the point from which it initially departed. The mission's captivating climax is slated for September 24, 2023, when a specially designed capsule carrying the precious Bennu samples is scheduled to make its touchdown in the West Desert of Utah. Stay tuned as we continue to track the remarkable journey to Bennu's heart and back to Earth.