CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — In just a matter of months, for the first time, the U.S. will bring back a sample of the early solar system in the form of about half a pound of asteroid pieces.
This week marks the two-year anniversary of when on May 10, 2021, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer ( OSIRIS-REx ) spacecraft began its journey back to Earth from the asteroid 101955 Bennu .