NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully returned precious samples from an asteroid, completing a 4-billion-mile, seven-year journey.
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This historic event marked the first time NASA has brought back asteroid samples to Earth, offering insights into the solar system's mysteries.
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The spacecraft jettisoned the sample capsule, which safely landed in the Utah desert, three minutes ahead of schedule.
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The event was described as "opening a time capsule to our ancient solar system" and holds great scientific significance.
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Samples were collected from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, a relic from the early solar system, around 4.5 billion years old.
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Scientists aim to uncover if asteroids played a role in the emergence of life on Earth by studying these samples.
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Bennu is classified as a potentially hazardous object, with a slim chance of impacting Earth in the distant future.
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The sample return capsule contains approximately 8.8 ounces of rocky material from Bennu.
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The capsule will be transported to a clean room for examination before reaching NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
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OSIRIS-REx is not done yet; it will continue its journey to investigate another asteroid, Apophis, in an extended mission.
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