NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has been on a wild ride through space for the past seven years, and now it's finally coming home!
But it's not coming empty-handed - the spacecraft is carrying a precious sample collected from the rocky surface of asteroid Bennu, making history as the United States' first-ever mission to return an asteroid sample to Earth.
And what better way to celebrate this momentous occasion than with a parachute drop into the Utah desert on September 24th?
Biggest Challenge Yet
But this is not just any old delivery - the OSIRIS-REx team is facing one of their biggest challenges yet. They have to make sure the asteroid sample stays safe from heat, vibrations, and any pesky earthly contaminants during its journey back to Earth.
As NASA's Mike Moreau puts it, "Once the sample capsule touches down, our team will be racing against the clock to recover it and get it to the safety of a temporary clean room."
Over the next six months, the team will practice and refine the procedures needed to recover the sample and transport it to a new lab at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
They will also distribute up to a quarter of the sample to the OSIRIS-REx science team for analysis, while the rest will be curated for other scientists to study in the future.
As the spacecraft approaches Earth, the team will release its sample return capsule, marking the end of its primary mission.
Inside the capsule is a cup of Bennu's material, equivalent to 8.8 ounces, give or take a few grams. The capsule is expected to land within a 37-mile by 9-mile ellipse, part of the Utah Test and Training Range and Dugway Proving Grounds.
And to make sure everything goes according to plan, the team is using computer models to test navigation plans in various weather, solar activity, and space debris scenarios.
Read Also: NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission Touchdown: Asteroid Bennu is Loose, Spacecraft Almost Sunk!
The Real Fun Begins
But the work doesn't stop there. Once the capsule is safely inside the building with the portable clean room, the team will get to work preparing the sample canister for transport to Houston.
And there, the real fun begins - scientists will uncover the sample, distribute up to a quarter of it to the OSIRIS-REx science team for closer study, and curate the rest for other experts to study.
"The return to Earth of samples from asteroid Bennu will be the culmination of a more than 12-year effort by NASA and its mission partners, but marks the beginning of a new phase of discovery as scientists from around the world will turn their attention to the analysis of this unique and precious material dating from the early formation of our solar system," a spokesperson from NASA remarked.
With the final phase of their mission just around the corner, the future is looking bright for space exploration and discovery.
Related Article: NASA OSIRIS-REx Mission Reveals New Information about Asteroid Bennu