asteroid sample return

A Combination Drill and Gas Conveyor Could Simplify Asteroid Extraction

Collecting material from an asteroid seems like a simple task. In reality, it isn't. Low gravity, high rotational speeds, lack…

6 months ago

Asteroid Ryugu Contained Bonus Comet Particles

On December 5th, 2020, Japan's Hayabusa2 mission successfully returned samples it had collected from the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) 162173 Ryugu…

10 months ago

Watch OSIRIS-REx Release its Sample Capsule

Most of the spacecraft we send out into the Solar System are never meant to return. Time, space, and entropy…

1 year ago

OSIRIS-REx Would Have Sunk Deep into Asteroid Bennu if it Tried to Land

A pair of studies published in Science and Science Advances have helped identify that NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource…

2 years ago

Just A Couple Of Weeks From Now, OSIRIS-REx Will Grab A Sample From Bennu

NASA is about to achieve another first for their organization. In about three weeks time, on October 20th, the OSIRIS-REx…

4 years ago

Hayabusa2’s Mission isn’t Over. It has a New Asteroid Target to Visit: 1998 KY26

In an expected move, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced a mission extension for their Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Hayabusa2…

4 years ago

OSIRIS-REx Will Collect a Sample from Bennu on October 20th

The date is finally set for OSIRIS-REx's sampling maneuver. The spacecraft has been at asteroid Bennu since the end of…

5 years ago

OSIRIS-REx Descended Down to Just 75 Meters Above the Surface of Bennu in a Recent Test

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is getting ready for its big moment. OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) is…

5 years ago

OSIRIS-REx did its Closest Flyover Yet, just 250 Meters Above its Sample Site

NASA's OSIRIS-REx is getting closer, physically and temporally, to its primary goal. The spacecraft arrived at Bennu at the end…

5 years ago

Asteroid Ryugu is a “Fragile Rubble Pile”

When Japan's Hayabusa 2 spacecraft arrived at asteroid Ryugu in June 2018, it carried four small rovers with it. Hayabusa…

5 years ago