Watch OSIRIS-REx return to Earth this Saturday with a pristine sample of asteroid Bennu.
On Sunday 24 September 2023, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission will return a sample of an asteroid back to Earth.
The event will be the culmination of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft's 7-year journey to asteroid Bennu and back.
The sample capsule is due to land in the Utah desert, USA at around 15:55 BST (10:55 EDT, 14:55 GMT).
What is OSIRIS-REx bringing back to Earth?
OSIRIS-REx is returning to Earth on 24 September 2023 at the culmination of its mission to asteroid Bennu and back.
NASA’s asteroid investigator OSIRIS REx made contact with asteroid Bennu on 20 October 2020.
While at the asteroid, the spacecraft collected around 400g of dust and pebbles from the surface
The spacecraft then sent this back to Earth in the Sample Return Capsule.
Asteroids and other spacerocks are material left over from the formation of the Solar System, and can give scientists insight into what the early Solar System was like.
While meteorites that have landed on Earth do provide a wealth of scientific information, they have been contaminated during their journey to terra firma.
Sample return missions like OSIRIS-REx or the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission, however, promise uncontaminated samples that can be studied for years to come.
Being able to study pristine samples collected from space is an important step in asteroid research, and could reveal new insights about the formation and evolution of our Solar System.
How to watch OSIRIS-REx's landing
You can watch the return of the OSIRIS-REx sample via the official NASA livestream on the link below.
The broadcast will begin at 15:00 BST (10:00 EDT, 14:00 UT) on 24 September 2023.
