The capsule with samples from the asteroid Bennu separated from the OSIRIS-Rex probe before landing

A capsule containing soil samples collected on the asteroid Bennu on Sunday separated from the US OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft flying near Earth ahead of an upcoming landing, NASA said.

The separation was carried out at an altitude of 102 thousand km about four hours before landing. After re-entering Earth's atmosphere around 10:42 a.m. EDT, the capsule should land in 13 minutes using a parachute system at the Pentagon test site in the Utah desert, 122 km from the city of Salt Lake City.

The capsule will deliver about 250 grams of soil from the asteroid to Earth. After landing, it will be sent to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was launched in 2016 and arrived at the asteroid Bennu in December 2018. The probe was in orbit of the asteroid for two years, during which it was studied remotely.

Having approached the surface of the asteroid in October 2020, the probe touched down with the help of a manipulator arm.

Scientists hope soil samples from Bennu will provide new data on the formation of the solar system 4.5 million years ago. It is assumed that the asteroid's surface may contain matter preserved from the moment of its inception.

This is NASA's first mission to return soil samples from asteroids to Earth. After flying close to Earth, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will continue its journey to the asteroid Apophis to study it.

The OSIRIS-REx mission is named after the Egyptian god of the underworld, Osiris, and the asteroid Benn was named after a bird in 2013, symbolizing the resurrection of this god. According to calculations of the trajectory of movement, the asteroid Bennu, discovered in September 1999, has a chance of colliding with the Earth in the period from 2169 to 2199. NASA considers this object to be a potentially dangerous celestial body for the planet.

The mass of Bennu reaches 140 million tons, the diameter is 560 m. the fall of such a body to Earth would lead to catastrophic consequences. Illustration provided by NASA of the OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft on the asteroid Bennu.

Ilustración proporcionada por la NASA de la nave espacial OSIRIS-Rex en el asteroide Bennu

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