In a first, NASA returns asteroid samples to Earth

[BumRushDaShow]

8. The project website is here

https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex

And from their FAQ - https://www.nasa.gov/content/osiris-rex-faq

When – and where on Earth – will the sample capsule land?

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).