Page 3 - Sample Return Capsule News Today

As excited observers gear up for the return of asteroid chips attention turns again to space mining and the search for resources.

Seven years and 4 billion miles after its launch, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has successfully dropped off a capsule containing a precious sample of one near-Earth asteroid — and is now on course to rendezvous with another one in 2029. Rocket thrusters built at Aerojet Rocketdyne’s facility in Redmond, Wash., have been guiding the bus-sized probe every step of the way. Today marked the climax of OSIRIS-REx — which stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource...

Samples collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission excite scientists with their potential to reveal secrets of the Solar System. Samples collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission excite scientists with their potential to reveal secrets of the Solar System.

The capsule containing the sample was recovered by helicopter from the Utah desert.

The capsule containing the sample was recovered by helicopter from the Utah desert.

The capsule containing the sample was recovered by helicopter from the Utah desert.

The capsule containing the sample was recovered by helicopter from the Utah desert.

The capsule containing the sample was recovered by helicopter from the Utah desert.

The capsule containing the sample was recovered by helicopter from the Utah desert.

The capsule containing the sample was recovered by helicopter from the Utah desert.