What you need to know about NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission as it prepares to return asteroid samples to Earth on Sunday.
The spacecraft is now heading back into Earth's orbit now and will jettison its cargo over the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. If successfully performed, it will release a capsule containing nearly nine ounces of rock and soil believed to be 4.5 billion years old.
In this photo provided by NASA, recovery teams participate in field rehearsals to prepare for the retrieval of the sample return capsule from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range on Aug. 29, 2023.The spacecraft will then fly in tandem for 20 minutes before firing its thrusters to head off onto its next mission to the asteroid Adophis, reaching it in 2029.of the delivery beginning at 10 a.m.
To be mindful about organic contaminants, the samples will be stored in a hyper clean room built just for the mission in Building 31 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where all the Apollo moon rocks were also processed.
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