A team led by NASA in Utahs West Desert is in the final stages of preparing for the arrival of the first U.S. asteroid sample slated to land on Earth in September.
A mockup of NASAs OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and SecurityRegolith Explorer) sample capsule was dropped Wednesday from an aircraft and landed at the drop zone at the Department of Defenses Utah Test and Training Range in the desert outside Salt Lake City. This was part of the missions final major test prior to arrival of the actual capsule on Sept. 24 with its sample of asteroid Bennu, collected in space almost three years ago.
We are now mere weeks away from receiving a piece of solar system history on Earth, and this successful drop test ensures were ready, said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASAs Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Pristine material from asteroid Bennu will help shed light on the formation of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago, and perhaps even on how life on Earth began.
