In a first, NASA returns asteroid samples to Earth
Source: NBC News
Sept. 24, 2023, 10:53 AM EDT
A capsule containing precious samples from an asteroid landed safely on Earth on Sunday, the culmination of a roughly 4-billion-mile journey over the past seven years.
The asteroid samples were collected by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which flew by Earth early Sunday morning and jettisoned the capsule over a designated landing zone in the Utah desert. The unofficial touchdown time was 8:52 a.m. MT, 3 minutes ahead of the predicted landing time.
The dramatic event -- which the NASA livestream narrator described as "opening a time capsule to our ancient solar system" -- marked a major milestone for the United States: The collected rocks and soil were NASA's first samples brought back to Earth from an asteroid. Experts have said the bounty could help scientists unlock secrets about the solar system and how it came to be, including how life emerged on this planet.
Bruce Betts, chief scientist at The Planetary Society, a nonprofit organization that conducts research, advocacy and outreach to promote space exploration, congratulated the NASA team on what he called an "impressive and very complicated mission," adding that the asteroid samples are the start of a thrilling new chapter in space history.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/first-nasa-returns-asteroid-samples-earth-rcna111474
= new reply since forum marked as read
Thanks for pointing that out!
Is it me, or does the theme seem a little too happy and upbeat for a horror film? 
I would have been more impressed if it landed on a flatbed trailer so that the scientists don't have to carry the capsule to the vehicle. 
and they said there was little or no wind so they should have been able to do that - road + flatbed + tarp = perfect!
At least this didn't happen at the same Dugway facility (from almost 20 years ago) -
And from their FAQ - https://www.nasa.gov/content/osiris-rex-faq
When it reaches within 63,000 miles (or 102,000 kilometers) of Earth’s surface – about one-third the distance from Earth to the Moon – the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will release the sample capsule. The time of release will be 4:42 a.m. MDT / 6:42 a.m. EDT on Sept. 24.
Traveling at 27,650 miles (44,500 kilometers) per hour, the capsule will enter Earth’s atmosphere four hours later just off the coast of Northern California at an altitude of about 83 miles (133 kilometers) above the surface. The time of entry will be 8:42 a.m. MDT / 10:42 a.m. EDT.
The capsule will land just 13 minutes later, at 8:55 a.m. MDT / 10:55 a.m. EDT, in a 36-mile by 8.5-mile (58-kilometer by 14-kilometer) area on the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City.
Mission team members will retrieve the capsule as soon as possible after it lands to ensure the sample is not contaminated by exposure to Earth’s environment. They will fly it by helicopter to a temporary clean room set up at the training range and prepare the sample for transport to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston the next day. Scientists at Johnson will care for the sample, store it, and distribute it to the OSIRIS-REx science team and other scientists worldwide. Most of the sample will be available upon request for generations to come.
What was surprising to me was the mention while this was going on this morning, about the sample going to the Johnson Space Center. I have rarely heard of things going there except for "display", although obviously Mission Control is there (I have actually been there).
“You must sign this waiver to enter the theater.”
Cool!!
Right?! 
