A Nasa spacecraft, which scientists believe has collected samples from an asteroid, began its two-year journey back to Earth on Monday.
Nasa’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is attempting to complete a mission to visit Bennu, a skyscraper-sized asteroid some 200 million miles (320 million km) from Earth, survey the surface, collect samples and deliver them back to Earth.
Staff celebrated at the OSIRIS-REx control room in Colorado as the space vehicle pushed away from the asteroid, whose acorn-shaped body formed in the early days of our solar system. OSIRIS-REx arrived at Bennu in 2018.
The spacecraft found traces of hydrogen and oxygen molecules – part of the recipe for wat…
Keep on reading: Nasa spacecraft starts trip back to Earth after collecting asteroid samples