NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory News and Features
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Planetary Defense: The Bennu Experiment
6 Dec 2018, 19:25 UTC
On Dec. 3, after traveling billions of kilometers from Earth, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft reached its target, Bennu, and kicked off a nearly two-year, up-close investigation of the asteroid. It will inspect nearly every square inch of this ancient clump of rubble left over from the formation of our solar system. Ultimately, the spacecraft will pick up a sample of pebbles and dust from Bennu's surface and deliver it to Earth in 2023.