Asteroid particles
Particles (black) from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu coating the surface of the OSIRIS-REx (Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification and Security–Regolith Explorer) asteroid return canister. The OSIRIS-REx mission was launched on 8th September 2016, and dropped this capsule on 24th September 2023. It is hoped that the sample, which contains water and carbon thought to date to the formation of the solar system billion years ago, will give insight into the early solar system and the origins of life on Earth. Photographed at Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
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Photo credit: © NASA, Dante Lauretta/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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