It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the arrival of NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe at the space rock known as Bennu. Bennu is a big, beefy, messy rock with lots to see, and NASA's probe spent a good deal of time studying its surface before it ever attempted to snatch a sample of material. Now that it's completed its incredibly risky objectives, the probe is scheduled for a return to Earth, but first, it has to fly through space for a couple of years.
In a new blog post, NASA reveals that the spacecraft fired up its engines on Monday evening, giving it a nice push that allowed it to escape the gravitational pull of Bennu and begin its journey home. Scientists back on Earth are eager to get their hands on pieces of Bennu so that they can probe the rock for secrets it may be hiding, but they're going to have to wait a while. The spacecraft will take another 2.5 years to get back to Earth where it will finally deliver its payload.
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NASA is now bringing asteroid samples back to Earth originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 11 May 2021 at 20:46:36 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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