A Once-In-A-Lifetime Encounter: Brace Yourself for the Arrival of an Asteroid Sample on Earth!

Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter to uncover the wonders of the universe. Stay informed about captivating discoveries, groundbreaking scientific research, and much more. Brace yourself for the anticipated arrival of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft this Sunday, as it brings an extraordinary cosmic offering: an untarnished sample obtained from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.

The spacecraft is expected to release a capsule carrying approximately 8.8 ounces of asteroid rocks and soil into the Utah desert, if everything goes as planned. NASA will livestream the sample delivery starting at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday. The capsule is anticipated to enter Earth's atmosphere at 10:42 a.m. ET, with a speed of around 27,650 miles per hour (44,498 kilometers per hour). It is estimated to touch down in Utah approximately 13 minutes later.

After releasing the capsule, OSIRIS-REx will continue on its tour of the solar system to capture a detailed look at a different asteroid named Apophis.

The sample is expected to land in the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range, where recovery teams have been training for months.

Keegan Barber/NASA

Studying the sample can enhance scientists' comprehension of crucial aspects regarding the inception of our solar system as asteroids represent remnants from that primordial era 4.5 billion years back. Additionally, the sample can offer valuable insights into Bennu, a celestial body with a potential risk of colliding with Earth in the future.

The endeavor to bring back NASA's initial asteroid sample procured from space to Earth has undergone a lengthy process. This article provides an overview of the significant achievements accomplished thus far and sheds light on the forthcoming milestones.

The spacecraft, known as OSIRIS-REx, embarked on an extraordinary cosmic expedition for the past seven years. It was launched from Cape Canaveral in 2016 and reached Bennu's orbit in December 2018.

Result: The OSIRIS-REx mission, the first US expedition to a near-Earth asteroid, achieved multiple historic milestones. It executed the closest-ever orbit around a planetary body and successfully orbited Bennu, the smallest object ever approached by a spacecraft.

To identify the optimal sampling site, OSIRIS-REx thoroughly examined the entirety of the asteroid. Bennu, resembling a spinning top, is a 500-meter-wide rubble-pile asteroid comprised of rocks held together by gravitational forces.

An illustration depicts the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft as it descended toward the rocky surface of asteroid Bennu.

The spacecraft's observations of Bennu gave the mission team never-before-seen knowledge about the asteroid. They made groundbreaking discoveries, including finding water ice and carbon with biological implications within the rocks of Bennu. Additionally, the team witnessed particles being released into space from the asteroid.

On October 20, 2020, as the spacecraft approached the asteroid, it embarked on a significant Touch-and-Go sample collection mission, referred to as TAG. However, various challenges surfaced throughout the journey, posing a threat to the mission's triumph. Notably, the sample collection head on the spacecraft encountered an issue as it gathered a substantial amount of material, causing the container to fail in sealing adequately. Consequently, valuable asteroid material started leaking into the vastness of space.

During the significant collection event, the sampling head of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft penetrated the surface of the asteroid by 1.6 feet (0.5 meters). Evidently, the exterior of Bennu consists of loosely arranged particles that lack secure bonding, as indicated by the spacecraft's sampling procedure. Without the spacecraft's timely maneuver of firing its thruster to retreat after swiftly gathering dust and rocks, it could have potentially submerged completely into the asteroid.

It was during this moment that the mission team came to comprehend that the surface of the asteroid bears resemblance to a pit filled with plastic balls.

The team of OSIRIS-REx successfully tackled and surmounted these obstacles, positioning the spacecraft to deliver the most sizable sample gathered by a NASA mission since lunar rocks were returned by Apollo astronauts many years ago.

The spacecraft captured detailed images of the asteroid's surface.

NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

The team successfully arranged a final flyby of Bennu in April 2021, enabling the spacecraft to observe the impact it had on the asteroid's surface during the collection event. Comparative images taken before and after revealed intriguing changes caused by the sample collection and the spacecraft's thruster activity, such as the displacement and rearrangement of significant boulders on the asteroid's surface.

Subsequently, the spacecraft initiated its journey back to Earth.

After bidding farewell to Bennu in May 2021, OSIRIS-REx embarked on a journey back to Earth by circling the sun twice. This trajectory was carefully planned to ensure the spacecraft arrives at the perfect time for depositing the asteroid sample.

Throughout this year, NASA and Lockheed Martin Space have dedicated significant effort to rehearsing each stage of the sample retrieval process.

If the trajectory of the spacecraft remains on course, the sample capsule is expected to detach from OSIRIS-REx approximately 63,000 miles (102,000 kilometers) away from Earth on early Sunday. After leaving Bennu, the spacecraft has executed multiple maneuvers and utilized its thrusters in order to ensure that it passes by Earth at the appropriate time for the capsule release. The capsule will touch down within a designated area measuring 36 miles by 8.5 miles (58 kilometers by 14 kilometers) within the Defense Department's Utah Test and Training Range.

Parachutes will be deployed to decelerate the capsule to a gentle touchdown speed of 11 miles per hour (17.7 kilometers per hour), and recovery teams will be prepared to retrieve the capsule once it is deemed safe to do so. This information was shared by Sandra Freund, the program manager for OSIRIS-REx at Lockheed Martin Space, a collaborator with NASA in spacecraft construction, flight operations, and capsule recovery efforts.

A training model of the sample return capsule was released from an aircraft in August to simulate what recovery operations will look like.

NASA will transport the sample in a cargo net via helicopter to a temporary cleanroom at the range in June. Subsequently, a team will ready the sample container to be transported on a C-17 aircraft to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on Monday. Specifics regarding the sample will be unveiled through a NASA broadcast from Johnson on October 11.

Scientists will study the rocks and soil in a specialized cleanroom at Johnson Space Center for the next two years. Gaining a deeper understanding of near-Earth asteroids like Bennu, which could potentially collide with our planet, is vital. By examining their composition and orbits, we can predict which asteroids may approach Earth closest and when. This knowledge will also help us develop techniques to divert these asteroids.

The sample will be distributed to laboratories worldwide, including the Canadian Space Agency and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, who are partners of the OSIRIS-REx mission. Approximately 70% of the sample will be preserved for future generations, allowing them to gain even greater knowledge using advanced technology.

This sample will provide valuable insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system, as well as the crucial role of asteroids in the development of habitable planets like Earth. Scientists theorize that carbonaceous asteroids, like Bennu, collided with Earth in its early stages, delivering essential elements such as water.

Dante Lauretta, the principal investigator at the University of Arizona in Tucson, expresses the goal of understanding why Earth is a habitable planet - a magnificent celestial entity with oceans and a protective atmosphere. The belief is that such conditions are a result of the carbon-rich asteroids that introduced essential materials during the early stages of our planetary system's development. By studying and potentially retrieving samples from these asteroids, it is hoped that we may gain insight into the origins of life and the extraordinary biological evolution that has ultimately led to our existence.