OSIRIS-REx: Asteroid Acquisition

In the early evening of September 8th, 2016, Osiris-REx jettisoned from Earth to begin a three and a half-year journey to an asteroid named “Bennu”. Its objective: to land on the asteroid in approximately July of 2020, survey and acquire samples from it and bring them back to Earth for further study, with a projected return date of 2023. Totaling 7 years, OSIRIS-REx is only the third mission of its kind sent under the NASA New Frontiers program, preceded by Juno and New Horizon.