This NASA animation depicts the OSIRIS-REx mission beginning with liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Sept. 8, embarking on a voyage to rendezvous and orbit Asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft will use its cameras, laser and spectrometer instruments to map the mountain-size rock starting in late 2018 before performing a touch-and-go maneuver to capture a pristine sample in 2020 that is returned to Earth for study. Landing in Utah is planned for Sept. 24, 2023.
See earlier OSIRIS-REx coverage.
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