August 31, 2025
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Breaking News
  • [ August 30, 2025 ] Live coverage: SpaceX’s Sunday morning Falcon 9 launch will send 1,900th Starlink to orbit in 2025 Falcon 9
  • [ August 29, 2025 ] SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites into polar orbit Falcon 9
  • [ August 29, 2025 ] NASA, NOAA prep spacecraft trio to study the Sun and its impacts Mission Reports
  • [ August 27, 2025 ] SpaceX launches record-breaking 30th flight of a Falcon 9 booster Falcon 9
  • [ August 27, 2025 ] SpaceX completes 400th Falcon booster landing on a drone ship Mission Reports

Sample Return

News

NASA is bringing an asteroid sample back to Earth – here’s when, how and why

September 22, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The sample of asteroid Bennu collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is set to return to Earth the morning of Sept. 24.

Mission Reports

Chinese mission returned nearly 4 pounds of lunar samples

January 1, 2021 Stephen Clark

Chinese officials say they plan to share a portion of the nearly 4 pounds of lunar material returned by the Chang’e 5 mission with other countries, but an allocation for U.S. scientists will hinge on a change in U.S. policy restricting cooperation between NASA and China’s space program.

Mission Reports

Chinese sample return capsule lands on Earth after round-trip flight to moon

December 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

A capsule containing moon rocks landed in a remote, snow-covered corner of China Wednesday, bringing home the first samples from the lunar surface in 44 years and completing the Chinese space program’s most challenging robotic mission to date.

Mission Reports

Chinese spacecraft heading back to Earth with lunar samples

December 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Chinese spacecraft ferrying rocks drilled from the moon’s surface is on course to land back on Earth Wednesday and deliver the first fresh lunar samples to scientists since the 1970s.

Mission Reports

Scientists thrilled with asteroid treasure returned by Japanese spacecraft

December 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

Japanese space agency officials said Tuesday they found a “large number” of pitch black rock and dust particles after opening a capsule returned to Earth earlier this month by the Hayabusa 2 mission, giving eager scientists their first significant specimens ever brought back from an asteroid.

Mission Reports

Chinese mission accomplishes first-ever robotic docking in lunar orbit

December 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

The Chinese Chang’e 5 mission accomplished the first robotic docking between two spacecraft orbiting the moon Saturday, when a lunar ascent spacecraft linked up with an Earth return vehicle and transferred a container of moon rocks to bring home in mid-December.

Mission Reports

Japanese capsule carrying asteroid rocks lands in Australia after six-year mission

December 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

An armored re-entry capsule carrying pristine specimens from an asteroid streaked into Earth’s atmosphere and parachuted to a landing in the Australian outback Saturday, bringing home extraterrestrial rocks that could hold clues to the origin of life on Earth.

Mission Reports

Live coverage: Hayabusa 2 asteroid sample return capsule lands in Australia

December 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

Japan’s Hayabusa 2 mission returned to Earth Saturday after a six-year mission to collect samples from asteroid Ryugu. The mission’s sample return capsule landed in in the Australian outback around shortly before 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) Saturday.

Mission Reports

Japanese asteroid sampling mission on course for return to Earth

December 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

Six years after departing Earth, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft released a spinning capsule Saturday containing pristine asteroid material for a scorching re-entry and landing in the remote Australian outback, where teams are standing by to retrieve the specimens for analysis.

Mission Reports

China’s Chang’e 5 sample return craft takes off from the moon

December 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

Wrapping up a busy two days on the lunar surface, a Chinese spacecraft carrying moon soil took off from a makeshift launch pad and fired back into orbit Thursday on the first leg of its journey back to Earth.

Posts pagination

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News Headlines

  • Live coverage: SpaceX’s Sunday morning Falcon 9 launch will send 1,900th Starlink to orbit in 2025
    August 30, 2025
  • SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites into polar orbit
    August 29, 2025
  • NASA, NOAA prep spacecraft trio to study the Sun and its impacts
    August 29, 2025
  • SpaceX launches record-breaking 30th flight of a Falcon 9 booster
    August 27, 2025
  • SpaceX completes 400th Falcon booster landing on a drone ship
    August 27, 2025
  • SpaceX successfully launches Super Heavy-Starship on critical test flight
    August 27, 2025
  • SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
    August 27, 2025
  • Launch preview: SpaceX tries for third time to launch Starship Flight 10 from Starbase, Texas
    August 26, 2025
  • SpaceX launches Luxembourg’s NAOS, 7 other rideshare satellites from California
    August 26, 2025
  • Poor weather delays Starship Flight 10 to Tuesday
    August 25, 2025
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