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NASA Spacecraft Begins Journey Back To Earth With Asteroid Sample

After nearly five years in space, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has begun its 1.4-billion-mile trek back to Earth which will take about 2.5 years.

NASA Spacecraft Begins Journey Back To Earth With Asteroid Sample
NASA / Goddard / University of Arizona / CSA / York / MDA via AP
By Robin Dich
SMS
May 11, 2021

A NASA spacecraft with samples from an asteroid is making its long return back to Earth.

The trip home from OSIRIS-REx will take about two years.

The spacecraft reached an asteroid in 2018 and spent two years flying near and around it before collecting rubble from the surface late last year.

The asteroid it collected from is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old.

It will be the biggest sample size for the U.S. since the Apollo moon rocks.