Here’s What Asteroid Sample Recovery Will Look Like

On July 18-20, the team behind NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission rehearsed recovering a mock sample return capsule from the location where the real one, with fragments of asteroid Bennu, will land on Sept. 24: the Utah desert.

Though the team has rehearsed portions of the recovery operation many times this year, this was the most realistic rehearsal yet, taking place at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of Salt Lake City. Besides taking place at the real landing location, the rehearsal included helicopter training for the OSIRIS-REx team members who will fly by helicopter to retrieve the sample capsule from its landing site inside a 36-mile by 8.5-mile (58-kilometer by 14-kilometer) ellipse on the military range.

Here are a few highlights from the rehearsal:

Two people, wearing caps, sunglasses, and latex gloves, are bent on their knees over a sandy surface. One is holding a small, plastic baggie, while the other is scooping some sand. Another person, with only an elbow and part of the right leg visible, hovers over them in the left-hand side of the image, taking a photo.
OSIRIS-REx team members practice collecting soil samples on the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range. On July 18-20, 2023, the team rehearsed retrieving a mock sample capsule at the location where the real one, with samples of asteroid Bennu, will land on Sept. 24.  NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected a sample from Bennu in October 2020 and has been traveling back to Earth with it since May 2021. This picture was taken on Tuesday, July 18. Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber.
In the foreground several people are standing with their backs to us. In the background a person is facing us, holding the corner of a large piece of mesh, with a tarp-covered object on top of it. The white ground makes for a beautiful contrast with the bright blue sky. In the right-hand corner stands a helicopter, and next to it, a person with their hands on their hips is facing us.
OSIRIS-REx team members practice getting a mock sample capsule packed for its helicopter flight to a clean room on the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range. On July 18-20, 2023, the team rehearsed retrieving a mock sample capsule at the location where the real one, with samples of asteroid Bennu, will land on Sept. 24.  NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected a sample from Bennu in October 2020 and has been traveling back to Earth with it since May 2021. This picture was taken on Wednesday, July 19. Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber.
On a beige expanse, a person is pictured wearing a backpack, gloves, and face mask. He is crouching over a mini-fridge size object shaped like a badminton birdie.
A military representative checks the mock sample capsule’s landing site for unexploded ordnance. He will be the first person to approach the real capsule, with samples of asteroid Bennu, when it lands at the at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range on Sept. 24. This picture was taken on Tuesday, July 18, at the OSIRIS-REx team’s rehearsal in Utah, which took place July 18-20, 2023. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected a sample from Bennu in October 2020 and has been traveling back to Earth with it since May 2021. Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber.
Against a bright blue background, a helicopter hovers in the top right corner. A long rope hangs from it, with a mesh pouch at the bottom.
A helicopter practices transporting a mock sample capsule, packed for travel, at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range. On July 18-20, 2023, the team rehearsed retrieving a mock sample capsule at the location where the real one, with samples of asteroid Bennu, will land on Sept. 24.  NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected a sample from Bennu in October 2020 and has been traveling back to Earth with it since May 2021. This picture was taken on Wednesday, July 19. Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber.

A full image gallery of rehearsal is available here.

Rehearsal video footage is available here.

– Lonnie Shekhtman