Nasa’s Osiris Rex probe begins two year journey to Earth from asteroid Bennu with cache of soil samples
Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Nasa’s Osiris Rex probe is embarking on a two year journey back to Earth with a cache of soil and dust from the asteroid Bennu after spending nearly five years in space. In order to safely being the Bennu samples to Earth, the Nasa team needs to plan the spacecraft’s future manoeuvres and keep it on course throughout its long journey. While the spacecraft’s trajectory back to Earth will be determined mainly by the Sun’s gravity, Nasa engineers said they would need to make small course corrections via engine burns occasionally. Even as the Osiris Rex probe the asteroid in 2018, Nasa said the team was “kept on its toes”, as the asteroid was releasing small pieces of rock into space which the team had to ensure wasn’t harmful to the spacecraft.
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