NASA spacecraft loaded with asteroid rubble begins 2-year trip back to Earth â and a Utah landing
The samples collected by the robotic prospector are the first NASA has gotten from an asteroid.
(Conceptual Image Lab/Goddard Space Flight Center/NASA via AP, File) The Osiris-Rex spacecraft fired its engines and began the long journey back to Earth on Monday, leaving the ancient space rock Bennu in its rearview mirror.
By Marcia Dunn | The Associated Press
  | May 11, 2021, 2:51 a.m. | Updated: 3:28 a.m.
Cape Canaveral, Fla. ⢠With rubble from an asteroid tucked inside, a NASA spacecraft fired its engines and began the long journey back to Earth on Monday, leaving the ancient space rock in its rearview mirror.
May 10, 2021 - 8:04 PM
Pfizer COVID-19 shot expanded to US children as young as 12
U.S. regulators on Monday expanded the use of Pfizer s COVID-19 vaccine to children as young as 12, offering a way to protect the nation s adolescents before they head back to school in the fall and paving the way for them to return to more normal activities.
Shots could begin as soon as Thursday, after a federal vaccine advisory committee issues recommendations for using the two-dose vaccine in 12- to 15-year-olds. An announcement is expected Wednesday.
Most COVID-19 vaccines worldwide have been authorized for adults. Pfizerâs vaccine is being used in multiple countries for teens as young as 16, and Canada recently became the first to expand use to 12 and up. Parents, school administrators and public health officials elsewhere have eagerly awaited approval for the shot to be made available to more kids.
NASA spacecraft begins 2-year trip home with asteroid rubble
By MARCIA DUNNMay 10, 2021 GMT
The trip home for the robotic prospector, Osiris-Rex, will take two years.
Osiris-Rex reached asteroid Bennu in 2018 and spent two years flying near and around it, before collecting rubble from the surface last fall.
The University of Arizona’s Dante Lauretta, the principal scientist, estimates the spacecraft holds between a half pound and 1 pound (200 grams and 400 grams) of mostly bite-size chunks. Either way, it easily exceeds the target of at least 2 ounces (60 grams).
It will be the biggest cosmic haul for the U.S. since the Apollo moon rocks. While NASA has returned comet dust and solar wind samples, this is the first time it’s gone after pieces of an asteroid. Japan has accomplished it twice, but in tiny amounts.
The trip home for the robotic prospector, Osiris-Rex, will take two years.
It reached asteroid Bennu in 2018 and spent two years flying near and around it, before collecting rubble from the surface last autumn.
The University of Arizona’s Dante Lauretta, the principal scientist, estimates the spacecraft holds between 8oz and 16oz of mostly bite-size chunks, easily exceeding the target of at least 2oz. It will be the biggest cosmic haul for the US since the Apollo moon rocks.
Mission navigation has received confirmation of burn cutoff. #OSIRISREx is headed home with a souvenir of rocks and dusts from a 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid! #ToBennuAndBackpic.twitter.com/BmaK1dkPDB
NASA s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft begins its 2-year trip home with asteroid debris
With rubble from an asteroid tucked inside, a NASA spacecraft fired its engines and began the long journey back to Earth on Monday.
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The Associated Press ·
Posted: May 10, 2021 5:18 PM ET | Last Updated: May 10
This mosaic of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 images collected on Dec. 2, 2018, by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 24 kilometres. (NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)