Bill Nelson sends message to NASA team after asteroid sample collection

On Sunday 24 September, NASA successfully brought back the largest asteroid sample ever returned to Earth.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson was one of the first people to congratulate the team on the feat. “This mission proves that NASA does big things,” Nelson said.

The Osiris-Rex spacecraft was launched by Nasa on September 8, 2016. It collected a sample – roughly 250 grams – of rocks and dust from the surface of an asteroid, called Bennu, on October 20, 2020. Osiris-Rex set off back to Earth with the sample on 10 May 2021.