Meteorites are fragments of asteroids which find their way to Earth as shooting stars. These cosmic sediments have frozen the primordial soup from which our solar system emerged – preserving […]
OSIRIS-REx
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Sample Return Update: OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Revealed
Erika Blumenfeld, creative lead for the Advanced Imaging and Visualization of Astromaterials (AIVA) and Joe Aebersold, project management lead, captured this picture using manual high-resolution precision photography and a semi-automated […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report
OSIRIS-REx Team Clears A Hurdle To Access Remaining Sample From Asteroid Bennu
Curation team members at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston have successfully removed the two fasteners from the sampler head that had prevented the remainder of OSIRIS-REx’s asteroid Bennu sample […]
Posted inMissions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report
Astrobiology/Astrogeology Sample Return Update: Likely Cause of OSIRIS-REx Parachute Issue
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule landed under parachute in the Utah desert on Sept. 24, 2023, and safely delivered a cannister of rocks and dust collected from near-Earth asteroid Bennu. […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
National Museum of Natural History Unveils Display of Asteroid Bennu Sample
The first public display of a sample from asteroid Bennu is seen, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release
The OSIRIS-REx Sample Canister Lid is Removed
NASA scientists found black dust and debris on the avionics deck of the OSIRIS-REx science canister when the initial lid was removed today. The canister from the OSIRIS-REx sample return […]
Posted inComets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule Arrives At Johnson Space Center
The first U.S. asteroid sample, delivered by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to Earth on Sept. 24, has arrived at its permanent home at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where it […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release
The OSIRIS-REx Samples From Bennu Have Landed On Earth
After years of anticipation and hard work by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer) team, a capsule of rocks and dust collected from asteroid […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release
NASA Completes Last OSIRIS-REx Test Before Asteroid Sample Delivery
A team led by NASA in Utah’s West Desert is in the final stages of preparing for the arrival of the first U.S. asteroid sample – slated to land on […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report
OSIRIS-REx Sample Analysis Plan — Revision 3.0
The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft arrived at its target, near-Earth asteroid 101955 Bennu, in December 2018. After one year of operating in proximity, […]