OSIRIS-REx

How NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission may help us understand the origins of life on Earth

By Ali Rogin, Harry Zahn

osiris rex asteroid sample landing craft desert 2023-09-24T191731Z_1670960291_RC23F3ALIBMT_RTRMADP_3_SPACE-EXPLORATION-AST...

WATCH: NASA scientists unveil first near-Earth asteroid sample returned to U.S.

NASA is showing off its first asteroid samples delivered last month by a spacecraft. Scientists and space agency leaders took part in Wednesday's big reveal at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press

What scientists hope to learn from asteroid sample returned to Earth on NASA spacecraft

You may have heard about a NASA probe that successfully brought some samples from a deep-space asteroid back to Earth. It took four billion miles to get them, but researchers believe it will be worth it. You also may be…

By Miles O'Brien, Kate Tobin

FILE PHOTO: A view of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington.

News Wrap: GOP hardliner blasts McCarthy’s plan to avoid government shutdown

In our news wrap Sunday, House negotiations to avoid a government shutdown enter their final week, France is ending its military presence in Niger, talks continued in the auto workers and Hollywood strikes, NASA retrieved its first asteroid samples from…

WATCH: NASA holds news conference after retrieval of capsule from OSIRIS-REx

In a flyby of Earth, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft released the capsule containing NASA’s first asteroid samples from 63,000 miles out. The small capsule landed four hours later on a remote expanse of military land, as the mothership set off after another asteroid.

By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press

WATCH: NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission returns an asteroid soil sample to Earth

By Bella Isaacs-Thomas

Experts say the rocks and dust the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft plucked from an asteroid named Bennu will fuel scientific research for generations.

WATCH: NASA reviews plan to recover Bennu asteroid sample via OSIRIS-REx

By Bella Isaacs-Thomas

NASA researchers on Wednesday will share how they plan to retrieve rock samples plucked from the surface of an ancient asteroid next month.

NASA spacecraft begins 2-year trip home with asteroid rubble

By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press

A NASA spacecraft is headed back to Earth with rubble it collected from an asteroid nearly 200 million miles away. The robotic explorer Osiris-Rex fired its engines Monday to start the two-year trip home.

Asteroid samples tucked into capsule for return to Earth

By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press

So much was collected that rocks got wedged in the rim of the container and jammed it open, allowing some samples to escape. Whatever is left won't arrive at Earth until 2023.

Asteroid samples escaping from jammed open NASA spacecraft

By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press

The sample container on the end of the robot arm penetrated so deeply into the asteroid and with such force that rocks got sucked in and became wedged around the rim of the lid.