The first asteroid samples ever collected by NASA are closing in on Earth for a historic landing in the Utah desert today (Sept. 24). NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which collected samples of asteroid Bennu in 2020, released a capsule carrying that precious cargo at 6:42 a.m. EDT (1042 GMT) on a course to land on Earth. The spacecraft was 63,000 miles (101,388 kilometers) from Earth, about one-third the distance to the moon, when it released the sample capsule, with OSIRIS-REx itself flying past our planet to a new destination, NASA officials…
Read MoreSpending time in space can harm the human body — but scientists are working to mitigate these risks before sending people to Mars
When 17 people were in orbit around the Earth all at the same time on May 30, 2023, it set a record. With NASA and other federal space agencies planning more manned missions and commercial companies bringing people to space, opportunities for human space travel are rapidly expanding. However, traveling to space poses risks to the human body. Since NASA wants to send a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s, scientists need to find solutions for these hazards sooner rather than later. As a kinesiologist who works with astronauts, I’ve spent years studying the…
Read MoreWatch NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe approach Earth tonight with free telescope livestream
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will pass Earth this weekend, returning a sample gathered from the potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu on Sunday (Sept. 24). Fingers crossed that space enthusiasts may be able to watch the first part of this historic sample return mission — the first time NASA has collected material from an asteroid and brought it home — live and for free online. That is if all goes according to plan for Italian astrophysicist and astronomer Gianluca Masi and his Virtual Telescope Project. “I’m very pleased and excited to announce that the Virtual…
Read MoreHow NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission will help protect Earth against asteroid Bennu and its flyby in 2182
The asteroid Bennu is a scientific gem, but a potentially dangerous one: No other space rock has a higher known probability of hitting Earth in the next 200 years. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid-sampling mission will help scientists better understand how to protect humankind if Bennu’s trajectory were ever to intersect with that of our planet. Bennu, discovered in 1999, is a rare B-type asteroid that is rich in carbon material believed to contain chemical compounds from the early epochs of the solar system. On top of that, its orbit makes the…
Read MoreOSIRIS-REx probe will bring pristine asteroid samples to Earth on Sept. 24. Watch it live
NASA’s first-ever pristine asteroid sample will come down to Earth on Sunday morning (Sept. 24), and you can watch the historic action live. If all goes according to plan, the agency’s OSIRIS-REx probe will release a capsule containing samples of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu on Sunday at 6:42 a.m. EDT (1042 GMT). That capsule will touch down softly under parachutes at 10:55 a.m. EDT (1455 GMT) at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range and Dugway Proving Grounds, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of Salt Lake City.…
Read MoreNASA Scientists to Discuss Oct. 14 ‘Ring of Fire’ Solar Eclipse
NASA will host a media teleconference at 4 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 26, to discuss the upcoming annular solar eclipse. The annular eclipse will cross the U.S. from Oregon to Texas on Saturday, Oct. 14, with a partial solar eclipse visible throughout the contiguous U.S.
Read MoreSeeing New Zealand From a New Perspective
Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli captured this image of New Zealand, dotted by white clouds, on Sept. 12, 2023, as the International Space Station orbited 230 miles above the island nation.
Read MoreRecord-Setting NASA Astronaut Soon Returns to Earth; Watch Live
Now the record-holder for the longest single spaceflight by an American, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is scheduled to depart the International Space Station and return to Earth Wednesday, Sept. 27. The agency will provide full coverage from hatch closing through landing.
Read MoreSee Artemis 2 astronauts explore moon-like crater in Canada (photos)
Astronauts for the Artemis 2 moon mission, along with potential future lunar crews, practiced their prospecting skills on a Canadian crater this month. The expedition included Artemis 2 moon astronaut Jeremy Hansen, with the Canadian Space Agency, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch. The two will be mission specialists aboard Artemis 2, the first moon mission to send humans around our neighboring satellite since 1972. While Hansen and Koch will not be landing on the moon, geology training will assist them with spotting features like craters from afar. Space agencies around…
Read MoreWhat time is NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return capsule landing on Sept. 24?
It’s been seven years since the launch of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to collect and return samples of asteroid Bennu, and the long wait for the spacecraft’s homecoming is nearly over. OSIRIS-REx, short for Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, on September 8, 2016. The journey to rendezvous with Bennu took the spacecraft two years to complete, which were followed by another two years of scans while orbiting the asteroid. The much-anticipated collection of material from Bennu’s surface didn’t occur until October 20, 2020, and…
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