In an upcoming milestone for NASA, the OSIRIS-REx mission is reaching its conclusion as it prepares to bring back rock samples from a distant asteroid. NASA will live stream the return of the capsule carrying the invaluable samples collected from the Bennu asteroid in 2020. The spacecraft will release the capsule when it reaches a distance of 63,000 miles from Earth’s surface. Assuming a successful landing and recovery in the Utah desert, the asteroid material in the capsule could provide valuable insights into the formation of the solar system and the origins of life on our planet. The mission has already captivated space enthusiasts with incredible footage of the spacecraft landing on Bennu as the rock zoomed through space at a staggering speed of 63,000 mph, over 200 million miles away from Earth. Remarkably, even after releasing the capsule, the spacecraft’s work is not done, as it will proceed to study the Apophis asteroid during its close flyby of Earth in 2029. To follow this significant event, NASA will provide a live stream of the developments starting on Sunday, September 24, at 10 a.m. PT. The live stream can be accessed through various platforms such as NASA TV, NASA’s YouTube channel, NASA.gov, the NASA app, or on social media (@NASA). A post-landing news conference is scheduled to take place around 5 p.m. ET, coinciding with the sample capsule’s arrival at the temporary clean room on the military range.
