NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission and the asteroid Bennu have had a date planned for two years, and today they finally get to meet face to face.
The mission will be NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission. It launched in September 2016 and will spend two years up close and personal with Bennu. then, it will descend, collect samples, and return to earth in 2023.
At one-third of a mile in diameter, Bennu will be the smallest object that any spacecraft has ever visited.
Bennu was discovered in 1999.
Bennu is relatively close to Earth, and its orbit even crosses that of our planet, making a close approach every six years.
The asteroid could pass closer than the moon, in 2135, with even closer approaches possible in 2175 and 2195. A direct hit is unlikely, experts say.