OSIRIS REx

NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) robotic deep-space probe is returning from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, beginning its 2.5-year journey to Earth laden with samples.

NASA has set the timeline for the return of its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which will carry samples from the asteroid Bennu for analysis back on Earth. Prior to making the journey, the probe will conduct a final flyby of the wandering solar system body.

It's been remarkable year for space exploration, marked by a line up of ambitious new interplanetary missions, industry firsts, and the reemergence of the US in the field of human spaceflight.

NASA has successfully stowed the leaking sampler head containing material from the asteroid Bennu inside the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft's Sample Return Capsule after its collection attempt proved a little too successful.

Images returned by NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid explorer have confirmed that the spacecraft's sample collector head is slowly leaking some of the material it gathered from the surface of the asteroid Bennu, but it's not all bad news.

On Tuesday this week, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touched down on the surface of asteroid Bennu to snatch a sample of the ancient pristine rock, and took off again. And now NASA has released images and video from the robot’s perspective.

In a truly remarkable feat of engineering, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has scooped a sample of soil from the surface of asteroid Bennu, as it hurtles through space some 205 million miles from Earth.

New findings from NASA's OSIRIS-REx probe of asteroid Bennu's gravity field suggest that the core is less dense than the outside shell, and possibly contains a large void – which could spell its doom in the not-too-distant future.

Scientists studying the asteroid Bennu are reporting a long-suspected phenomenon whereby extreme temperature fluctuations are fracturing rocks on its surface, a process that could offer clues about the body’s past and possible future.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx unmanned probe has ticked off another key milestone on its epic journey, successfully completing a first practice run of a complex sampling sequence in close proximity to its target asteroid’s surface.

With OSIRIS-REx in close orbit around Bennu, we’ve already seen some pretty amazing up-close shots of the asteroid. And now, NASA has released a full global map of this rocky little world in unprecedented resolution.

Science stands still for no one, and with a new year comes a new calendar of exciting events in spaceflight and exploration. New Atlas rounds up some of the most important milestones to look forward to in 2020.