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In addition to the resources on this page, follow the progress of the OSIRIS-REx mission at #ToBennuAndBack and @NASASolarSystem on your preferred social media platform, and read more on the NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission Blog.

Highlights

Mission Animations and Videos

OSIRIS-REx

Learn more about the OSIRIS-REx mission and its journey to deliver an asteroid sample to Earth.

Explore

An illustration of OSIRIS-REx dropping off its sample return capsule at Earth.

NASA

Highlights

Curating the Asteroid Sample

One of the goals of the OSIRIS-REx mission was to collect at least 60 grams of asteroid material. The total sample that the spacecraft delivered to Earth was 4.29 ounces (121.6 grams). Curation experts at NASA's Johnson Space Center, working in new clean rooms built especially for the mission, discovered bonus asteroid material covering the outside of the collector head, canister lid, and base. There was so much extra material, it slowed down the careful process of collecting and containing the primary sample.

Silver, circular sample head with black and dark gray rocks and dust sample inside

A view of the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector. Sample material from asteroid Bennu can be seen on the middle right. Scientists have found evidence of both carbon and water in initial analysis of this material. The bulk of the sample is located inside.

NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold

Return to Earth

On May 10, 2021, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft said farewell to asteroid Bennu and began its journey back to Earth with the precious material it collected from the asteroid. The spacecraft successfully delivered the sample of Bennu on Sept. 24, 2023, with its sample return capsule landing at 8:52 a.m. MDT (10:52 a.m. EDT) in a targeted area of the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City, Utah.

A black capsule sits in the desert surrounded by scattered plants.

The sample return capsule from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.

NASA/Keegan Barber

TAG Sample Collection

On Oct. 20, 2020, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully touched the surface of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu and collected abundant material during the Touch-and-Go (TAG) sample collection event. The sampling event brought the spacecraft all the way down to sample site Nightingale, touching down within 3 feet (1 meter) of the targeted location.

A series of images that shows the SamCam imager’s field of view as the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft approaches and touches down on asteroid Bennu’s surface.

OSIRIS-REx touches down in the Nightingale sampling site on asteroid Bennu on Oct. 20, 2020. The sampling head touched Bennu's surface for a few seconds, then the spacecraft performed a back-away burn.

NASA/GSFC/University of Arizona

OSIRIS-REx Arrives at Bennu

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft completed its 1.2 billion-mile (2 billion-kilometer) journey to arrive at asteroid Bennu on Dec. 3, 2018. The spacecraft executed a maneuver that transitioned it from flying toward Bennu to operating around the asteroid.

The gray, rocky surface of asteroid Bennu.

Twelve images captured by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft compose this image of asteroid Bennu.

NASA/GSFC/University of Arizona

Evening Launch for OSIRIS-REx

An Atlas V rocket traced a blazing arc into the Florida sky on Sept. 8, 2016, sending a small robotic explorer called OSIRIS-REx on its way to an asteroid. Scientists anticipate the mission will help us to better understand the early solar system, as well as the hazards and resources of near-Earth space.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, on the first U.S. mission to sample an asteroid, retrieve at least two ounces of surface material and return it to Earth for study.

NASA

Mission Animations and Videos

A close up view of diamond-shaped Asteroid Bennu. The asteroid appears gray in this image. Rocks and craters are visible.

Why Did NASA Choose Asteroid Bennu?

Learn about NASA's selection process for choosing the near-Earth asteroid Bennu as the target for the agency's OSIRIS-REx mission.

Watch

Black and white image of Bennu's rocky surface

How NASA Will Study the Asteroid Bennu Samples

Learn how the asteroid samples collected by OSIRIS-REx will be curated and made available for scientists around the world to study for decades to come.

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