Spacecraft and Asteroid Bennu Encounter in Space

The image displays a spacecraft in space next to the asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft, known as the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx), is on a NASA mission to study Bennu and bring back a sample to Earth. OSIRIS-REx is equipped with deployed solar panels and an extended robotic arm. Bennu, a dark, irregularly shaped asteroid approximately 500 meters in diameter, orbits the Sun between Earth and Mars. The spacecraft reached Bennu in 2018 and will return with a sample in 2023.