A spacecraft the size of a passenger van is orbiting an asteroid nearly 100 million miles away -- and will soon snag a sample of dirt from the surface and send it back to Earth.
OSIRIS-REx launched from Cape Canaveral three years ago. The mission is NASA’s first asteroid sample return. Scientists hope the ancient asteroid will hold signs of early life in the solar system -- but since its arrival, the asteroid has hasn’t been exactly what scientists expected.
90.7’s space reporter Brendan Byrne spoke with the mission’s principle investigator Dante Lauretta about the mission -- and the surprises uncovered at the asteroid Bennu.
Find more details about the OSIRIS-REx mission and other space exploration on the podcast Are We There Yet.