NASA’s asteroid sampling OSIRIS-REx probe to return to Earth in May

Michael Moreau, deputy director of the OSIRIS-REx project, explained that leaving for Earth in May puts the mission “in the ‘sweet spot’, when the departure maneuver will consume the least fuel aboard the spacecraft.” Before the spacecraft completely leaves the rock it has been studying for a few years, it could do another flyby in early April.

The OSIRIS-REx team is currently investigating whether it is possible to do another flyby, which will give them a way to collect data on how the swipe sample collection affected Bennu’s surface. It would also give the team the ability to assess the condition of the spacecraft’s instruments, including its cameras and spectrometers. OSIRIS-REx is expected to deliver the samples it has collected in September 2023. As it approaches Earth, the spacecraft will drop the sample container, which will land using parachutes in Utah.