--- title: "On September 24, the first asteroid sample ever collected by NASA will arrive on Earth." description: "NASA scientists are preparing for the special delivery of the first US sample collected from asteroid Bennu in 2020." author: "Saumya Mishra" published: 2023-09-24 updated: 2023-09-25 canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/news/3349/on-september-24-the-first-asteroid-sample-ever-collected-by-nasa-will-arrive-on-earth category: "technology" tags: ["usa", "space science"] reading_time: 2 minutes --- # On September 24, the first asteroid sample ever collected by NASA will arrive on Earth. 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](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/86035/nasa-s-first-asteroid-sample-landed-on-earth), which is expected to provide new insights into the formation of [our solar system](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/35770/which-is-the-second-largest-moon-in-our-solar-system) over 4.5 billion [years ago](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/81912/humans-lived-in-america-more-than-30000-years-ago). The sample will also reveal the role asteroids may have played in delivering water and organic molecules, the [building blocks](https://www.mindstick.com/interview/2557/what-are-the-core-building-blocks-of-android) of [life on Earth](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/115287/what-technologies-has-nasa-developed-that-benefit-everyday-life-on-earth-today). 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](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/114612/how-can-sustainable-practices-help-preserve-river-health-for-future-generations) to study with fresh insights and the [latest technologies](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/32222/list-and-explain-the-virtual-assistant-present-in-the-latest-technologies). ## Member of the 2023 stamp class NASA has issued a commemorative stamp to honor the [engineering](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/12520/earning-a-internal-engineering-graduate-rank-online) 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. \ --- Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/news/3349/on-september-24-the-first-asteroid-sample-ever-collected-by-nasa-will-arrive-on-earth Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.