Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2023 September 29 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Back from Bennu Image Credit: [3]NASA/Keegan Barber Explanation: [4]Back from asteroid 101955 Bennu, a 110-pound, 31-inch wide sample return capsule rests in a [5]desert on planet Earth in this photo, taken at the Department of Defense Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City [6]last Sunday, September 24. Dropped off by the OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft, the capsule looks charred from the extreme temperatures experienced during its blistering descent through Earth's dense atmosphere. OSIRIS-Rex began its home-ward journey from Bennu in May of 2021. Delivered to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on September 25, the capsule's canister is expected to contain an uncontaminated sample of about a half pound (250 grams) of [7]Bennu's loosely packed regolith. Working in a new laboratory designed for the OSIRIS-REx mission, scientists and engineers will complete the [8]canister disassembly process, and plan to unveil the sample of [9]the near-Earth asteroid in a broadcast event on October 11. Tomorrow's picture: shine on __________________________________________________________________ [10]< | [11]Archive | [12]Submissions | [13]Index | [14]Search | [15]Calendar | [16]RSS | [17]Education | [18]About APOD | [19]Discuss | [20]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [21]Robert Nemiroff ([22]MTU) & [23]Jerry Bonnell ([24]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [25]Specific rights apply. [26]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [27]ASD at [28]NASA / [29]GSFC, [30]NASA Science Activation & [31]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2309/BackFromBennu.jpg 3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/53210883020/in/album-72177720311435828/ 4. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-first-asteroid-sample-has-landed-now-secure-in-clean-room 5. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151863/osiris-rex-prepares-to-return-asteroid-sample 6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/albums/72177720311435828/with/53210883020/ 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230921.html 8. https://blogs.nasa.gov/osiris-rex/2023/09/26/the-osiris-rex-sample-canister-lid-is-removed/ 9. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/asteroids/101955-bennu/overview/ 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230928.html 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 14. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 19. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230929 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230930.html 21. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 24. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 26. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 27. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 28. https://www.nasa.gov/ 29. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 30. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 31. http://www.mtu.edu/