NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission: Collecting Samples from Asteroid Bennu

Join us on a thrilling journey to asteroid Bennu with NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. Launched on September 8, 2016, OSIRIS-REx arrived at Bennu on December 3, 2018, and began orbiting the asteroid on December 31, 2018. The mission's goal was to collect a sample weighing at least 2.1 ounces (59.5 grams) from the asteroid's surface and bring it back to Earth for study.
In this narrated video, we present the complete trajectory of the OSIRIS-REx mission during its time at Bennu. The spacecraft circled Bennu at a distance between 0.99 and 1.3 miles (1.6 and 2.1 km) and traveled around 0.11 mph (5 cm/sec), with each orbit lasting about 62 hours. On October 20, 2020, OSIRIS-REx made a dramatic, yet brief, touchdown on Bennu's surface, picking up a sample before beginning the long journey home on May 10, 2021.
OSIRIS-REx's sample return capsule is scheduled to bring a sample of Bennu back to Earth on September 24, 2023. However, the mission doesn't end there. The spacecraft will be retasked to swing by the near-Earth asteroid Apophis in 2029 with a new moniker: OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer, or OSIRIS-APEX.
This mission has provided an extraordinary opportunity to refine and test models, helping us better predict where Bennu will be in the future. OSIRIS-REx has also snapped some stunning images of Earth and its moon from a distance of a little more than 3 million miles.
Join us on this incredible journey to explore the mysteries of our solar system and learn more about the OSIRIS-REx mission.
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