Allowing scientists to study the solar system's origins
And secure a piece of a potential future Earth-threatening space rock,
marking the agency's first success in this endeavor.
Seven years after launching to space, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft flew by Earth Sunday to deliver the pristine sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
The spacecraft dropped the sample capsule — containing an estimated 8.8 ounces of asteroid rocks and soil
From a distance of 63,000 miles (102,000 kilometers) above Earth’s surface early Sunday
And entered the planet’s atmosphere at 10:42 a.m.
ET while traveling at a speed of about 27,650 miles per hour (44,498 kilometers per hour).
NASA has not classified the Asteroid 2023 RQ6 as a Potentially Hazardous Object
Because it will not impact Earth's surface despite a close call.
The asteroid is approximately 75 feet wide.
It is not huge enough to be classified as a Potentially Hazardous Object. It is as big as an aircraft in terms of size.