asteroid

The sample return capsule from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range.

Science

NASA asteroid sample lands safely in Utah before being whisked away by helicopter

8:10pm September 24, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

NASA's Osiris-REx mission has successfully returned a pristine sample of asteroid back to Earth. This cupful-or-so of space rock could shed light on the solar system's origins.

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A small sample of asteroid collected by Japan's Hayabusa-2 probe streaks back to Earth in 2020. Researchers now say the sample contains tiny grains of dust from other stars.

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Researchers discover stardust sprinkled on a nearby asteroid

4:13pm July 14, 2023

by Geoff Brumfiel

The dust, which came from distant stars, is thought to be similar to grains that eventually helped form the planets, including Earth.

This illustration shows the DART spacecraft approaching the two asteroids, Didymos and Dimorphos, with a small observing spacecraft nearby.

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Move over, Bruce Willis: NASA crashed into an asteroid to test planetary defense

9:09pm September 26, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

NASA successfully crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid in a test of planetary defense. Now it will determine whether the mission was able to alter the asteroid's course.

An illustration of the DART spacecraft approaching two asteroids; it will crash into the smaller one to try to change how this space rock orbits its larger companion.

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In a first test of its planetary defense efforts, NASA's going to shove an asteroid

12:21pm November 22, 2021

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

NASA is about to launch the first mission of its new planetary defense office. A spacecraft will attempt to knock a small asteroid off course by ramming into it.

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Japan's Hayabusa2, seen in this illustration, has been probing the asteroid Ryugu since 2018. The spacecraft is collecting samples that will be returned to Earth.

Japan (Very Carefully) Drops Plastic Explosives Onto An Asteroid

5:31pm April 05, 2019

by Geoff Brumfiel

The device was detonated as part of a mission to better understand the origins of planets.

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Roughly the size of a shoebox, the Mascot lander safely settled onto the surface of the Ryugu asteroid. It's seen here in an artist's rendering of the craft released by Germany's DLR aerospace agency.

Probe Lands On Ryugu Asteroid In Latest Success For International Group

3:34pm October 03, 2018

by Bill Chappell

On Twitter, the craft echoed Alice in Wonderland, declaring: "And then I found myself in a place like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery and danger!"

A photographer looks at the night sky to see the annual Geminid meteor shower in northern Italy in December 2015. This year's shower coincides with a close-range visit by its parent asteroid.

An Asteroid Gets Its Close-Up As Geminids Light Up The Sky

6:50pm December 12, 2017

by Laurel Wamsley

The Earth's encounter with asteroid 3200 Phaethon on Saturday will be its closest since 1974 — and the closest it will be until 2093. The flyby means good gazing for amateur astronomers.

This composite of 30 images of asteroid 2014 JO25 was generated with radar data collected using NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar in California's Mojave Desert.

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An Asteroid Is Swinging By Earth Today For Its Closest Visit In 400 Years

2:07pm April 19, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

Don't worry: Astronomers say asteroid 2014 JO25, which is more than a third of a mile wide, will fly harmlessly past our planet. Still, it should come close enough to be visible with small telescopes.

A computer illustration of a large asteroid colliding with Earth. (Size may not be to scale.) Such an impact is believed to have led to the death of the dinosaurs some 66 million years ago.

Scientists Say Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Made Earth's Surface Act Like Liquid

7:13pm November 22, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The asteroid smashed into Earth. And from miles under the Earth's surface, rock hurtled upward to a height twice that of Mount Everest and then collapsed outward to form a ring of mountains.

NASA's Other Asteroid Mission: Grab A Chunk And Put It In Orbit Around The Moon

5:57pm September 09, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Flying people to an asteroid is really hard, so NASA wants to bring part of it to them. But some former astronauts say the $2 billion plan was born of politics and budget cuts, and makes little sense.

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