OSIRIS-REx Sample Landing
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer), the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid, returned to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023, with material from asteroid Bennu.
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, Sept. 24,...
![Aerial view of the sample return capsule on the desert ground with an orange-and-white parachute attached.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53210363111-ddd7da8fa5-o-3.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
Lockheed Martin System Safety Engineer Victoria Thiem performs preliminary checks on the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, Sunday,...
![A woman wearing a blue jacket and black pants examines the capsule.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53210809939-e55d812d0a-o-3.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, Sept. 24,...
![Black, top-shaped sample return capsule sits on the desert ground with flags surrounding it.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53216317540-1a7bc66e35-o-3.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
From left to right, NASA Sample Return Capsule Science Lead Scott Sandford, NASA Astromaterials Curator Francis McCubbin, and University of...
![Three men look at the capsule, one is kneeling, two are standing. ](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53209962842-848945332f-o-3.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, Sept. 24,...
![Black, top-shaped sample return capsule sits on the desert ground.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53210429686-51262be46d-o-3.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
From left to right, Lockheed Martin Mission Operations Assurance Lead Graham Miller, Lockheed Martin Recovery Specialist Michael Kaye, and Lockheed...
![Three men prepare the sample for transport by helicopter in the desert.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53211147723-e3602c16b6-o-3.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
On Scene Commander of Recovery Jasmine Nakayama attaches the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to a helicopter for...
![The sample capsule is suspended the helicopter by long line against a bright blue sky and the desert below. A woman looks up at the capsule as it departs.](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53209962392-9185ebd93c-o-4.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
Members of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Flight Operations team are seen operating a helicopter as the sample return capsule...
![From behind, we see two people fly a helicopter. One lifts his arm, showing an American flag patch and OSIRIS-REx mission patch](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53216201904-3012cd984d-o-3.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
Curation teams process the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in a cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the...
![Three people in white cleanroom suits work on the capsule, one person in a white cleanroom suit takes photos](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53214935597-f26b4a0dd1-o-3.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is transferred to a cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department...
![Several people transport the capsule into a temporary cleanroom on a cart](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53216118353-470c36d366-o-3.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)
Recovery and curation teams join a container with the science canister from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission aboard a C-17 Globemaster aircraft,...
![A group of people sit inside a C-17 Globemaster aircraft with the sample return capsule and its accompany nitrogen tanks in the middle of the plane](https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53214932787-8b85390449-o-3.jpg?w=4096&format=jpeg)