asteroid probe begin seven-year quest
Asteroid probe begins seven-year quest
The US space agency (Nasa) has launched a mission to retrieve a rock sample from a 500m-wide asteroid called Bennu. Scientists hope the material will reveal details about the formation of the planets, and improve our knowledge of how potentially dangerous space objects move through the Solar System. The probe, dubbed Osiris-Rex, blasted away from Florida on an Atlas rocket at 19:05 local time (00:05 BST). It will be seven years before it returns to Earth with its bounty. This will be delivered in a capsule that will be parachuted down to the Utah desert on 24 September 2023.