The probe first landed on Ryugu in February 2019 to capture asteroid material by firing a “bullet” into the surface, kicking up dust and rocks. It was originally supposed to have performed that mission in October 2018, but updated surface

After a process that took a couple of days, the OSIRIS-REx mission has stowed away the sample of regolith that it snatched from an asteroid last week. Shortly after ,the team discovered that small particles appeared to be leaking from the collector head, and adjusted their plans to stow the sample within the spacecraft ahead of schedule.

Now they’ve confirmed that the Sample Return Capsule is securely closed, as the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission makes its way back to Earth. It’s scheduled to depart the area in March, and deliver the sample to Earth

Last week the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft grabbed material from the surface of an asteroid, but scientists report it grabbed so much that the collector head seems to be leaking small particles. Today NASA announced it’s moving up plans to secure what it grabbed. The maneuver was originally scheduled to take place on November 2nd, but now they’re going to do it tomorrow.

Tomorrow, the OSIRIS-REx mission will begin the process to stow its abundant sample of asteroid Bennu. It’s a few days earlier than originally anticipated, but the team is working hard to make sure we get every bit of Bennu we

The mission has canceled tomorrow’s Sample Mass Measurement to protect the sample and is now on course to stow the sample as soon as possible. The spacecraft remains in good health and the mission is confident that the spacecraft has collected more than 60 grams of material. pic.twitter.com/hABL4n3JYN

NASA associate administrator Thomas Zurbuchen said in a statement that “although we may have to move more quickly to stow the sample, it’s not a bad problem to have. We are so excited to see what appears to be an abundant sample that will inspire science for decades beyond

The sample collection process was a carefully orchestrated dance. OSIRIS-REx extended its 2 meter (6.6 foot) TAGSAM robotic arm with the 30 cm (1 foot) wide sampling head attached, while folding in its solar panels to protect them. The probe then slowly approached the surface, eventually touching down to within a single meter (3.3 feet) of the selected target. The entire process was monitored by the SamCam imaging camera mounted above the arm.

The camera shows the TAGSAM head approaching and then impacting Bennu’s surface at just 0.2 mph, penetrating in to the regolith. At first, it appears to crush some