Facts about OSIRIS-REx Mission

1. 06

   NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission cost approximately 1.16 billion dollars and operated for over a decade before successfully returning its asteroid samples to Earth in 2023.

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2. 05

   Bennu's extremely low density of 1.19 grams per cubic centimeter made the asteroid a rubble pile held together primarily by gravity rather than cohesive rock during the OSIRIS-REx mission's investigation.

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3. 04

   Spectroscopic analysis of Bennu samples revealed the presence of water-bearing minerals and organic compounds, providing evidence that the asteroid contains pristine material from the early solar system.

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4. 03

   Bennu's orbit brings the asteroid within 200,000 kilometers of Earth every six years, making it one of the most potentially hazardous asteroids that the OSIRIS-REx mission studied.

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5. 02

   The OSIRIS-REx mission collected samples from asteroid Bennu's surface using a Touch-and-Go sampling mechanism that operated for approximately 6 seconds during contact in October 2020.

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6. 01

   In September 2023, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft delivered 250 grams of asteroid Bennu samples to Earth after traveling 7 billion miles over seven years.

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