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| An impression of Oris-Rex landing on asteroid Bennu |
Osiris-Rex eased its robotic arm down to a target zone just eight meters in diameter, then fired pressurised nitrogen to agitate the surface material and catch its sample.
Then the spacecraft fired its thrusters to back away from Bennu’s surface to complete what scientists playfully described as a “boop”.
“US spacecraft completes sample grab from asteroid”.
NASA: “We’re looking for our own origins out there, and that’s why we’ve gone so far to bring a bit of Bennu back.”
