Nasa’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft
FIVE years after it was launched off the coast of Florida in the United States, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has begun its journey back to Earth.
America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) sent the spacecraft to outer space in 2016 to collect a sample from an ancient asteroid called Bennu.
In October last year the spacecraft managed to grab at least 60g of dust from the asteroid, the largest sample collected since the Apollo moon missions – when astronauts walked on the moon – more than 50 years ago.
Scientists hope that when it lands in the Utah desert in the US on 24 September 2023, they’ll be able to learn more about how the sun and planets were formed more than 4 billion years ago.
More about the spacecraft and its mission
The OSIRIS-REx practically flies itself as it doesn’t require
