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OSIRIS-REx probe launched to asteroid in compelling search for the origins of life
Like reaching back in time to examine the conditions that existed in the ancient solar system, NASA has launched a robotic probe to visit Asteroid Bennu and return an unspoiled sample of the primitive body that may hold the seeds of life.
Video: NASA mission launched to return sample of asteroid
The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, standing 189 feet tall and and weighing 840,000 pounds, unleashes 1.2 million pounds of thrust from its main engine and one side-mounted booster at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 GMT) today to launch NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission to Asteroid Bennu.
Live coverage: Atlas 5 countdown and launch journal
The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 GMT) today to send NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on a seven-year, 4.4-billion-mile mission to rendezvous with Asteroid Bennu and bring a sample of the primordial object back to Earth. Follow the mission in our live journal.
Photos: OSIRIS-REx on pad to begin voyage to Bennu and back
Headed to a relic from the solar system's formation over four billion years ago, NASA's OSIRIS-REx sample return craft was moved to Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 launch pad today in preparation for liftoff Thursday aboard an Atlas 5 rocket en route to Asteroid Bennu hoping to find the seeds of life.
Photos: Atlas 5 rocket rolls out to launch asteroid sampling probe
Poised to embark on a 7-year adventure to Asteroid Bennu and back, NASA's OSIRIS-REx sample return spacecraft was moved to the launch pad today aboard its Atlas 5 rocket for liftoff Thursday evening.
Atlas 5/OSIRIS-REx launch timeline
Follow the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad to send NASA's OSIRIS-REx on an interplanetary trajectory to intercept Asteroid Bennu and bring back a pristine sample. Launch is scheduled for Thursday at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 GMT).
Photos: Asteroid probe encapsulated, mounted atop Atlas 5 for launch
Technicians inched the two halves of the Atlas 5's aluminum nose cone around NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to package the asteroid sample return probe, then moved the satellite to the rocket's assembly building and hoisted it aboard the two-stage booster during the final days of August for the Sept. 8 launch.
Video: Atlas/OSIRIS-REx pre-launch and mission science press briefings
Watch the Atlas 5 rocket and OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return spacecraft pre-launch news conference and the mission science briefing held on Launch-minus 2 days at the Kennedy Space Center.
Atlas 5 rocket cleared to launch NASA probe to Asteroid Bennu
Mission leaders Tuesday gave approval for rollout of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to its pad on Wednesday morning, leading to liftoff Thursday evening of a NASA probe to rendezvous with an asteroid and bring a sample back to Earth.
Preview: NASA craft launches Thursday seeking the seeds of life on asteroid
What began as a concept scribbled on a cocktail napkin in a Tucson bar 12 years ago -- sending a spacecraft to an asteroid and retrieving a pristine sample to bring back to Earth for study -- becomes reality Thursday with the launch of NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission.