OSIRIS-REx will take a soil sample from the asteroid and take it back to Earth
NASA reported that the #OSIRIS-REx probe lifted off on top of an Atlas V launch vehicle in the early evening of September 8, 2016, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The probe is currently embarked on its way on a nearly two-year voyage to the asteroid Bennu. Once arrived, in August 2018, OSIRIS-REx will orbit the asteroid for two years. At the end of this period, it will touch down on Bennu and take a two-ounce soil sample. OSIRIS-REx will then head back to Earth and deliver the sample in September 2023 where it will be studied at #NASA’s Johnson Spaceflight Center in Houston, where the original moon rocks were taken decades ago.
Bennu is an Earth-approaching asteroid with a mean diameter of 492 meters. It is thought to be made up partly of carbon material that scientists believe is the building blocks of life. The asteroid also has a 1 in 2700 chance of hitting the Earth sometime in the 22nd Century.
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NASA sends to OSIRIS-REx probe to the asteroid Bennus https://t.co/oDFrPH2GEX
— MarkWhittington (@MarkWhittington) September 9, 2016
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