Content Stats & Analytics for @csirogram

CSIRO
@csirogram

164,508 followers

To Bennu and back. 🛰️ @nasa's #OSIRISREx spacecraft has returned, with samples collected from asteroid Bennu. Having travelled nearly 4 billion kilometres across the solar system, the spacecraft spent 2.5 years performing a detailed study of Bennu and collected a sample of its surface. The capsule containing the collected material landed on Earth this morning. Bennu is a 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid which may hold clues to life on Earth, and the formation of the Solar System. Scientists are also keen to learn more about the asteroid’s trajectory and its properties to gain insights into mitigating any future collision scenarios. Our team in Canberra, along with their sister Deep Space Network stations in Spain and the United States, supported the communications for the 7-year mission. With the completion of its initial mission, OSIRIS-REx now dons the name OSIRIS-APEX, heading to a new destination: asteroid Apophis. Read the story of OSIRIS-REx's mission at the link in our bio. 🔗 📷 | NASA/Keegan Barber #OutOfThisWorldPerformance #ThisAsteroidRockedOurWorld #CSIRO #WeLoveScience #Space