NASA scientists are preparing for a special delivery of the first-ever US sample collected from asteroid Bennu in 2020 by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on September 24. The package, carrying an estimated 8.8 ounces of rocky material, marks the first US mission to collect a sample from an asteroid.

A capsule containing rocks and dust is set to drop in Utah desert, US on Sunday at 8.25 pm IST, marking the spacecraft's 7-year journey.

What is the significance of the special delivery?

NASA is set to return its first-ever Asteroid sample, which is expected to provide new insights into the formation of our solar system over 4.5 billion years ago. The sample will also reveal the role asteroids may have played in delivering water and organic molecules, the building blocks of life on Earth. The spacecraft will drop off the material in a capsule in a precise trajectory to land in the Utah desert. The samples will be documented and cared for at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, and distributed for analysis to scientists globally. A portion of the sample will also be preserved for future generations to study with fresh insights and the latest technologies.

Member of the 2023 stamp class

NASA has issued a commemorative stamp to honor the engineering and scientific achievement of OSIRIS-REx, a sample capsule that parachutes to Earth over its landing site on the Utah Test and Training Range, according to NASA.