The OSIRIS-REx research probe of the American space agency NASA returned to Earth and brought soil samples from the asteroid Bennu, RIA Novosti reported citing the NASA press service.
The capsule allegedly contains from 60 grams to 2 kilograms of soil from the asteroid Bennu, considered the closest to Earth. This asteroid comes closest to our planet every six years. Scientists believe that the asteroid broke away from a larger cosmic body about 2 billion years ago, whose orbit lay in the Asteroid Belt between Jupiter and Saturn.
Once the capsule is removed from the spacecraft, its contents will be transferred to experts at the Johnson Space Center in Texas for study. Soil samples will be demonstrated in October this year.
The OSIRIS-REx probe was sent to the asteroid Bennu in 2016 and entered its orbit two years later. After two years of preparation, the device managed to land on the surface of the asteroid and take soil samples.