The latest landing test was successfully carried out by NASA, which is now in less than a month ready to obtain a sample of the asteroid Bennu, which was formed more than 4.5 billion years ago.
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The OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft, launched in 2016, entered orbit around this star in 2018, collected a sample and left in 2021 on its way to Earth.
The sample is finally scheduled to land on September 24, 2023.
On August 30, NASA scientists successfully conducted a landing test of a model identical to that of the capsule that was scheduled to return next month, nearly seven years after its launch.
“We are just weeks away from preserving a historic piece of our solar system on Earth,” NASA Deputy Administrator Nicola Fox said in a statement. These materials will help us shed light on the origins of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago and perhaps even the origins of life.”
The sample, weighing approximately 250 grams, will be transported to a sterilized temporary room before going to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where it will be analyzed in detail and distributed to various research groups around the world.
Canadian scientists will receive part of it, the Canadian Space Agency announced in a press release.
The capsule is expected to enter the atmosphere around 10:42 a.m. on September 24th.
To mark the occasion, NASA will present a live broadcast of the event on its website.