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VideoOSIRIS-REx overflows with asteroid samples after bagging bounty from Bennu
The sampling mechanism on NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is stuffed with specimens captured from asteroid Bennu earlier this week -- so full that some of the rocks are floating out into space. Officials said Friday they will stow the samples inside the mission's Earth return capsule sooner than planned to minimize the loss of asteroid material.
VideoScientists thrilled with first look at asteroid sampler in action
The first images beamed back to Earth by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft after it briefly landed an asteroid buoyed expectations Wednesday that the probe collected enough samples to meet the mission’s minimum requirement for return to Earth.
VideoLive coverage: Soyuz crew returns to Earth
A three-man crew closed out a 196-day expedition in orbit late Wednesday with a parachute-assisted landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, Soyuz commander Anatoly Ivanishin, and flight engineer Ivan Vagner undocked from the International Space Station at 7:32 p.m. EDT (2332 GMT) Wednesday, and the trio landed at 10:54 p.m. EDT (0254 GMT).
VideoLive coverage: OSIRIS-REx makes touch and go landing on asteroid
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made a touch and go landing on asteroid Bennu at 6:12 p.m. EDT (2212 GMT) Tuesday. The craft aimed to collect samples from the asteroid's gravely surface for return to Earth in 2023 for scientists to search for clues about the origins and evolution of the solar system.
VideoHow OSIRIS-REx will snag a sample from asteroid Bennu
Mars rovers go through seven minutes of terror when they plunge into the Martian atmosphere at hypersonic speed. NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will take a more glacial approach to its asteroid target Tuesday, and the event will be more akin to four-and-a-half hours of mild anxiety for ground teams, according to the mission's operations manager.
VideoAfter four-year journey, NASA spacecraft ready to touch an asteroid
Flying on autopilot more than 200 million miles from Earth, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is on track for a daring touch and go landing on an asteroid Tuesday to grab a sample for return to scientists eager to scan the specimens for clues about the history of the solar system.
VideoLive coverage: Soyuz crew arrives at International Space Station
A Soyuz rocket carrying Russian commander Sergey Ryzhikov, flight engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and veteran NASA astronaut Kate Rubins blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1:45 a.m. EDT (0545 GMT) Wednesday. The Soyuz crew took off on a three-hour express trip to the International Space Station that culminated in a docking at 4:48 a.m. EDT (0848 GMT).
VideoRussian rocket for next space station crew transferred to launch pad
A Russian Soyuz booster arrived at its launch pad on the Kazakh steppe Sunday, the last stop before liftoff Wednesday with a three-person crew bound for the International Space Station.
VideoLive coverage: Cygnus supply ship arrives at International Space Station
A Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship packed with fresh food, experiments, and a new toilet for the International Space Station approached the orbiting research lab Monday, two-and-a-half days after launching from Virginia aboard an Antares rocket. Capture of Cygnus with the station's robotic arm occurred at 5:32 a.m. EDT (0932 GMT).
VideoNASA asteroid explorer aces final rehearsal before sampling run
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft moved within about 131 feet, or 40 meters, of asteroid Bennu this week in the $1 billion mission's final practice run before a touch-and-go landing on the asteroid in October to collect samples for return to Earth.