The video shows a NASA probe sending an asteroid capsule to Earth

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was carrying precious cargo for about three years before dropping it into the Utah desert. While bidding farewell to rock and dust samples from asteroid Bennu, the spacecraft captured a departure snapshot of its Earth-bound beam as it headed to another asteroid.

NASA this week Released A black-and-white sequence of the return capsule as it descends toward its fiery return through Earth’s atmosphere on September 24. The brief shot was taken by Crown camerasNavCam 1 (touch-and-go sample acquisition mechanism) just moments after the capsule was released from the spacecraft.

The sample return capsule can be seen and is painfulIt makes its way towards the Earth, which appears in the form of a thin crescent at the left edge of the Earth The image of the sun shining at the top of the image sequence. The image sequence was processed to remove most of the scattered sunlight and highlight details of the capsule and the debris cloud emanating from it while preventing the view of Earth from becoming saturated, according to NASA.

Just 24 hours before launch, OSIRIS-REx’s StowCam captured the above image of the sample return capsule while it was still attached to the spacecraft’s instrument deck on September 23 at 10:37 a.m. ET.

In a dramatic way “after” In the image, the capsule containing the asteroid sample can be seen completely charred during its journey through the Earth’s atmosphere. The sample made a parachute-assisted landing at the Department of Defense Test and Training Range in Utah, where it was to land at a distance of 37 miles by 9 miles (59 kilometers by 15 kilometers) about 1 hour and 13 minutes after landing. issued by the spacecraft.

OSIRIS-REx was launched in September 2016 It arrived at the asteroid Bennu in December 2018. The spacecraft spent nearly two years observing the space rock before landing on Bennu and Grab a sample from its surface in October 2020. On May 10, 2021, OSIRIS-REx bid farewell to Bennu and began returning home to drop its precious payload.

It’s been just over a week since the asteroid sample touched down on Earth and its journey is already beginning to pay off. Scientists found while dismantling the sample canister An abundance of debris from the asteroidWhich suggests that OSIRIS-REx has acquired more parts of Bennu than expected.

On the other hand, the spacecraft itself is on its way towards its next mission, which is to explore the asteroid Apophis. Accordingly, the mission will be renamed OSIRIS-APEX (OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer).

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