Houston: The American space agency NASA has completed the first mission to bring back an asteroid sample from space. The science capsule reached the Earth after traveling a distance of 1.93 billion kilometers after receiving the sample from the asteroid called Benno.
The science capsule was launched from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on Sunday as the spacecraft passed near Earth at a speed of 43,452 kilometers per hour.
The science capsule was decelerated with the help of a parachute and the capsule landed at the US Department of State’s Utah Test and Training Range at 10:52 a.m. ET.
Later, the capsule was transferred to the Johnson Space Center in Houston with the help of a helicopter to protect it from the Earth’s atmosphere.
(Photo: AFP)
The OSIRIS-REx mission, launched in 2016, collected hundreds of grams of planetary material that could help scientists understand the early times of our solar system.
According to OSIRIS-REx program executive Melissa Morris, NASA works on smaller missions like this one to study the large number of asteroids in the solar system that could provide clues about the formation and evolution of the solar system.