---
title: "Here’s How to Watch as NASA Attempts to Grab a Sample From an Asteroid"
description: "NASA is about to send its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft down to the surface of Bennu, a small near-Earth asteroid about 500 meters across, to scoop up a sample."
date: "2020-10-20"
modified: "2020-10-20"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/watch-nasa-attempt-grab-sample-asteroid"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "bennu"
  - "NASA"
  - "osiris-rex"
  - "the digest"
---

# Here’s How to Watch as NASA Attempts to Grab a Sample From an Asteroid

![NASA is about to send its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft down to the surface of Bennu, a small near-Earth asteroid about 500 meters across, to scoop up a sample.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/watch-nasa-attempt-grab-sample-asteroid.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Touchdown

NASA is about to send its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft down to the surface of Bennu, a small near-Earth asteroid about 500 meters across, to scoop up a sample and bring it home.

OSIRIS-REx has already started making its approach and will make its sample collection at Bennu around 6:12 pm Eastern time today. Luckily, NASA is providing us with live coverage of the event, starting at 5pm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6K2dqCoin8

## All For the Gram

The site the spacecraft is targeting is about the size of a tennis court, surrounded by gigantic boulders. It's aiming to obtain at least 50 grams worth of Bennu space rubble.

OSIRIS-REx has been sending back tantalizing information about the space rock. Most recently, [researchers found evidence](<https://futurism.com/nasa-ancient-rivers-asteroid-bennu>) that ancient rivers flowed on its parent body, likely a much larger planetoid or proto-planet, a discovery hailed as "major scientific triumph" for NASA's mission.

Scientists are expecting to confirm this discovery once the spacecraft's samples make it back to Earth — if all goes according to plan — in 2023.

**READ MORE:** [Watch NASA's OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Attempt to Capture a Sample of Asteroid Bennu](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6K2dqCoin8>) \[NASA\]

**More on Bennu:** *[NASA Spacecraft Finds Evidence of Ancient Rivers on Asteroid](<https://futurism.com/nasa-ancient-rivers-asteroid-bennu>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)