we have been — to parts of bennu. no, really. we have been studying _ to parts of bennu.tudying the asteroid l have been studying the asteroid for two years. — have been studying the asteroid for two years, and we sort of have a broad _ two years, and we sort of have a broad idea — two years, and we sort of have a broad idea of what it could be like. in broad idea of what it could be like. in fact _ broad idea of what it could be like. in fact because of its weakness, it would _ in fact because of its weakness, it would never survive entry into the earth's _ would never survive entry into the earth's atmosphere on its own, it is very likely— earth's atmosphere on its own, it is very likely to — earth's atmosphere on its own, it is very likely to be quite unique. obviously— very likely to be quite unique. obviously until that capsule is opened — obviously until that capsule is opened and we get a chance to study it, opened and we get a chance to study it. we _ opened and we get a chance to study it, we really— opened and we get a chance to study it, we really don't know wh

you can see the reaction — asteroid bennu. you can see the reaction as— asteroid bennu.mple bag on the ground-— the ground. jonathan, i do not know if ou the ground. jonathan, i do not know if you heard — the ground. jonathan, i do not know if you heard that, _ the ground. jonathan, i do not know if you heard that, jonathan - the ground. jonathan, i do not know if you heard that, jonathan amos, i if you heard that, jonathan amos, our science correspondent. we are seeing pictures on the screen of people cheering and clapping. the official announcement that the sample return capsule officially landed at 8.52 mountain daylight time. there must have been scientist working on this throughout their entire careers. i working on this throughout their entire careers.— entire careers. i will get to that in a second- — entire careers. i will get to that in a second. that _ entire careers. i will get to that in a second. that is _ entire careers. i will get to that in a second. that is slightly i in a second. that is slightly earlier than we were expecting. we did not expect it to c

, ., ., ., ., ., around, what is so special about bennu? , ., ., ._, ., ., bennu? gone to a lot of effort with this _ bennu? they have gone to a lot of effort with this mission, _ bennu? they have gone to a lot of effort with this mission, they - bennu? they have gone to a lot of effort with this mission, they have travelled billions of miles to bennu, grab a bit of it and bring it back. one of the reasons is, bennu is one of the most dangerous space rocks in our solar system and has a small but significant chance of hitting us at some point in the next 300 years. if you can study what bennu is made of you have a chance of coming up with a plan of stopping it, should we ever need to. bennu is not all bad, you could tell us about our origins. asteroids are relics left over from the formation of the early solar system, unchanged for billions of years. there is an idea, asteroids in a collision early on in our history, delivered the amino acids in the building blocks of life habitable to make our planet. scientists will have to wait for it to come down to the ground.

the sample, bennu, is small— sample? not likely. the sample, bennu, is small and _ sample? small and dust - sample? not likely. the sample, bennu, is small and dust with . bennu, is small and dust with radiation and does not have an atmosphere. so there is no chance for life to surface. the asteroid that _ chance for life to surface. the asteroid that the _ chance for life to surface. the asteroid that the sample was taken from, as you say, bennu, passes close to the earth every six years or so. what is the likelihood of it ever hitting this planet? it likelihood of it ever hitting this planet?— this planet? it is classified as a potential _ this planet? it is classified as a potential hazardous i as a potential hazardous asteroid and is one of the reasons we went to investigate it. the chances small it is not zero. so it is one on nasa's radar that we track to either make that chance zero or investigate what that chance really is. if investigate what that chance reall is. . , ., really is. if the asteroid were to hit earth, _ really is. if the asteroid were to hit earth, w

all of this effort is to solve the mystery of what asteroid bennu is made of. the list of nasa's most hazardous space rocks, so studying its makeup could help us to stop it if we ever need to. but it could also reveal more about our origins — it's a perfectly preserved relic from the dawn of the solar system. this was the moment the sample was collected in a five—second smash and grab, before it was safely stowed in the capsule for its return to earth. the rock and dust will be divided up between scientists around the world, including the team at london's natural history museum. we're unbelievably excited to see what it's going to be made of. i mean, we've thought about it, we've talked about it, we've written papers about it, we've dreamt about what it's going to be. and finally, we're actually going to see it and find out what it really is, which, yeah, at the moment we have no idea. so it's going to be just so exciting to open the canister and find out what's in there. the main concern now is contamination. the team here in utah don't want what's on the grou

the sample bennu is a small, _ sample? not likely. the sample bennu is a small, doused - sample? does not have an atmosphere so there is no chance for life on the surface. the astro the sample was taken from, it passes close to the earth every six years or so. what is the likelihood of it hitting the planet? it is classified _ hitting the planet? it is classified as _ hitting the planet? it is classified as a - hitting the planet? it is i classified as a possibility. hitting the planet? it 3 classified as a possibility. it is one of the reasons we went to investigate it. the chance is small but it is not a zero so it is one on nasa's raider we track to either make that chance zero or estimate what that chance is. —— radar. if it that chance is. -- radar. if it was to eat — that chance is. -- radar. if it was to eat earth, _ that chance is. -- radar. if it was to eat earth, what - that chance is. —— radar. if it was to eat earth, what kind of impact? it is relatively small i believe. it impact? it is relatively small i believe-— impact? it is relatively small i believe. , , ., i b

bennu measures half a kilometer at its widest point.g questions about life on earth — as our science editor rebecca morelle reports. asteroid bennu, a boulder—strewn rock hurtling through space, the target of a seven year nasa mission. after travelling billions of miles, captured on camera the moment the 0siris—rex spacecraft collected its sample in a smash and grab lasting just five seconds. these bits of bennu were stowed in a capsule. now they're heading back to earth. we're looking at material that existed before our planet did. in fact, some of it may have been from even before the solar system formed. so we're looking at the beginning of our story. how did our solar system form, how did asteroids come together? and did asteroids like bennu literally make the earth a habitable world? the capsule's landing site is a vast wilderness, a military base in the utah desert. asteroid bennu is 500 metres in size, taller than the empire state building. it's shaped like a spinning top, bulging at its middle. and although it looks solid, it's

within the last 15 minutes the return capsule carrying samples from bennu, carrying samples from bennuut 250 grams of material which will now, as we have been hearing, be analysed by scientists from around the world including on the beginning of the earth. let's take a listen to the moment itself. you can see right in the centre of the cross hair, that is the parachute with the src dangling underneath.— parachute with the src dangling underneath. ., . ., , ., underneath. touch down. i repeat, src has touched _ underneath. touch down. i repeat, src has touched down. _ underneath. touch down. i repeat, | src has touched down. osiris-rex, underneath. touch down. i repeat, i src has touched down. osiris-rex, a “ourne of src has touched down. osiris-rex, a journey of 1 — src has touched down. osiris-rex, a journey of1 billion _ src has touched down. osiris-rex, a journey of1 billion miles _ src has touched down. osiris-rex, a journey of1 billion miles to _ journey ofi billion miles to asteroid bennu and back has come to an end. 0pening asteroid bennu and back has come to an end. opening a t

so this is actually obviously samples from asteroid bennu and the estimate is that there could be ase of sample from the asteroid bennu inside this capsule, inside of the canister. and that will take a while then to presumably navigate through and to extract. yes, exactly. so, i mean, they're inside a makeshift clean room right at the close to the landing site at the current time. but they will basically put it under nitrogen at some point and carry it to thejohnson space centre, hopefully tomorrow. and that's where it's going to be taken apart very, very carefully. now, people might not have been aware of this going on in terms of the significance of this programme. can you just explain a little bit about the magnitude of what's at stake here? this is an incredible achievement. i mean, this is, of course, the very first sample return from an asteroid by the united states. there have been two other sample returns from the japanese space agency before this, but they brought perhaps about a teaspoon full of asteroidal materials back. and we're hoping we're going to get close to a teacu

a journey of a billion miles to asteroid bennu and back has come to an end. opening a time capsule to our ancient solar system. unofficial touchdown time 8:52 am mountain. and the team can now breathe an immense sigh of relief. we now have the sample return capsule, the src, containing pieces of the asteroid bennu. you see the reaction there just moments ago as they got that sample back on the ground. the team at lockheed celebrating that momentous achievement of getting that sample from the other side of the solar system at asteroid bennu. when we took that sample, we were over 200 million miles away from us here on earth. the long journey back, 1.2 billion miles from asteroid bennu back to here with that sample. lots of excited pictures there. some live pictures now from utah. this is the craft itself being moved by that recovery team as he heard there it landed at 8:52am mountain time. on the salt plains of utah carrying around 250 grams. that is all it has on board. 250 grams of scientific material that will be now poured over and analysed by scientists a

and so that is one of the big reasons that we specifically chose asteroid bennu.rom in a reasonable time frame. asteroid bennu is also interesting, as you mentioned, because of those planetary defense, those security concerns. and so we need to understand its orbit and a lot of detail and its material properties so that if in the future there is a risk to earth, we understand it and have plenty of time to respond to it. the risks are very low, but asteroid bennu is currently the most hazardous hazardous asteroid that we know about. so definitely want to keep your eye on. and richard, i mean, we get a sense from you how excited you are to be getting very up close and personal to part of bennu. you know, really, because i mean, although we've been studying the asteroid for two years and we sort of have a broad idea of what it's going to be like, it's in fact, because of its weakness, it would never survive entry into the earth's atmosphere on its own. so, it's very likely to be quite unique. and so, obviously until that capsule's opened and we get a chance to study

and that is what bennu's samples can tell us. how much metal? particularly how much water. it won't be ice or liquid water, it will be bound up in minerals. but if we find a significant amount of water, then we know that exploration of the solar system becomes an awful lot easier. it of the solar system becomes an awful lot easier. , ., , , lot easier. it is absolutely extraordinary, _ lot easier. it is absolutely extraordinary, isn't - lot easier. it is absolutely extraordinary, isn't it, - lot easier. it is absolutely i extraordinary, isn't it, what lot easier. it is absolutely - extraordinary, isn't it, what they have managed to do, evenjust extraordinary, isn't it, what they have managed to do, even just by getting at here in terms of this tiny little sort of smash and grab as rebecca called it, it only took a few seconds to collect those tiny samples. they haven't got very much to work with, have they? 250 grams. well, that is significantly more than we have ever had before. and remember, since we have brought rocks back fro

the capsule had travelled a billion miles to land on the asteroid, named bennu, before returning safely back to earth earlier after seven years in space. scientists are now examining the sample, which they hope is 250 grams of rock and dust from the surface. they say it could explain how life on earth began. the retrieval of the capsule happened in the us state of utah, from where rebecca morelle reports. it has entered the earth's atmosphere. a first glimpse of the capsule after its epicjourney through space. high up in the atmosphere, a parachute opens, slowing its descent. touchdown! it has touched down. a textbook landing in the middle of the utah desert. for the team who have spent decades working on the osiris—rex mission, it's an emotional moment. how did it go question mark it went absolutely perfectly. perfect landing, we didn't move, we landed on nice, soft soil. the capsule looks flawless. i cried like a baby in the helicopter when i heard the parachute was open. it was an overwhelming moment for me. inside the capsule is the most press the sample, fragments of an asteroid ca

but bennu is not all bad.e asteroids are perfectly preserved time capsules, they are these relics, leftovers from the formation of the early solar system. so there is an awful lot we can learn from them. scientists are desperate to get their carefully gloved hands on this asteroid sample once the capsule is open. it will be a painstaking process, a few weeks long, but they say the wait is going to be worth it. rebecca morelle, bbc news. let's find out more with keith cowing, editor of spaceref.com. he's in reston, virginia thank you forjoining us. rebecca was quite excited in the desert in utah, how are you feeling about what is going to happen in utah, sunday morning? just as excited but i'm not sure she gave you a wonderful overview of what is about to happen and what everybody is excited about.— happen and what everybody is excited about. what a scientist exectin: excited about. what a scientist expecting to — excited about. what a scientist expecting to happen _ excited about. what a scientist expecting to

bennu's regolith will reside nearby.entists are anxious to get busy running the rocks through a gauntlet of tests. they've done several dress rehearsals to get ready. they dress for a raging pandemic. but why? perhaps life might imitate art? >> these people were cut down in midstride. >> everybody is dead. miles: in the 1971 film "the andromeda strain," a satellite crashes in new mexico and infects earth with a virulent extraterrestrial pathogen, killing nearly everyone who comes into contact with it. great science fiction, but -- >> the "science fact" of it is that it's a very low risk for earth. miles: elaine seasly is nasa's deputy planetary protection officer, and yes, that is a real job. her office is on a mission to ensure extraterrestrial rocks don't unleash uncontrollable harm to earth and its inhabitants. >> most of our missions that explore the solar system are doing so in an unrestricted manner, so we can bring back samples from asteroids, samples from comets, solar winds, those types of particles. all of thos

but bennu tops the list of nasa's most dangerous space rocks.metimes dangerously close. and the chance of a collision is one in 1,750. that's like tossing a coin and getting 11 heads in a row. and the 24th of september 2182 is the date it's most likely to hit. it's a very low likelihood of hitting the earth, and that's more than 100 years in the future. but it's really important to characterise its orbit, to understand its physical properties, so that if we do need to do anything to deflect asteroid bennu or another asteroid in the future, we are prepared and have all of the information that we can. the return won't be easy. the capsule will speed through the earth's atmosphere at more than 27,000mph before descending down to the ground, slowed by parachutes. the nasa team has been practising in the desert, working out the best way to recover the craft after it comes down. it's vital to keep the extraterrestrial material inside free from contamination. all eyes are now on this patch of utah desert, ready for the landing. the hope is this mission

but bennu tops the list of nasa's most dangerous space rocks.nd the chance of a collision is one in 1,750. that's like tossing a coin and getting 11 heads in a row. and the 24th of september 2182 is the date it's most likely to hit. it's a very low likelihood of hitting the earth, and that's more than 100 years in the future. but it's really important to characterise its orbit, to understand its physical properties, so that if we do need to do anything to deflect asteroid bennu or another asteroid in the future, we are prepared and have all of the information that we can. the return won't be easy. the capsule will speed through the earth's atmosphere at more than 27,000mph before descending down to the ground, slowed by parachutes. the nasa team has been practising in the desert, working out the best way to recover the craft after it comes down. it's vital to keep the extraterrestrial material inside free from contamination. all eyes are now on this patch of utah desert, ready for the landing. the hope is this mission could answer that most prof

bennu is the most dangerous rock in oursolarsystem.r system. it tops nasa's list of hazardous asteroids. if you want to think about ways you might be able to stop it, should we ever need to, one way to do this is to study it and find out what it's made of. the second reason is that bennu is a relic, a leftoverfrom the early formation of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago. it is a bit like a time capsule which gives scientists a really good insight into our own origins, how our planet formed, and it could answer some questions, like why the earth is habitable, for example. scientists are eager to get their carefully gloved hands, because contamination is important with this sample, on it. first, it needs to make it safely down to the ground. rebecca, we will be with _ safely down to the ground. rebecca, we will be with you _ safely down to the ground. rebecca, we will be with you throughout - safely down to the ground. rebecca, we will be with you throughout the i we will be with you throughout the day as that journey we will be wit

why study the astroid known as bennu?angerous space rocks. there is a small but significant chance of it hitting the earth in the next 300 years so we want to find a way of stopping at the best thing to do is figure out what the astroid is made of, to learn about the space rock. the second reason, this astroid is a relic from the earliest formation of our solar system formation of our solar system for but 5 billion years ago. unchangeable all of this time. it is bit like a time capsule so scientists want to study it to load about how our solar system formed and even why the earth is like it is. wide is habitable. there is a very that perhaps an asteroid deliver the molecules needed for life on earth to start here. the only way you can really start to a nswer way you can really start to answer these huge questions, these very profound questions, is to actually get your blood hands on the sample and that is what is going to be the exciting next stage of this mission. now to the way to start of kosovo where a violent cjd mon

asteroid bennu, a 500m wide rock hurtling through space.ops nasa's list of space rocks that pose a danger to our planet. but it could also shed light on our very beginnings. so nasa decided to get up close and personal with it. after a two—year journey captured on camera, this was the moment the 0siris—rex spacecraft collected a sample in a smash—and—grab that lasted just five seconds. these bits of bennu were safely stowed in a capsule, and now they're heading back to earth. we're looking at material that existed before our planet did, before the origin of life. in fact, some of it may have been from even before the solar system formed. so we're looking at the beginning of our story. how did our solar system form, how did asteroids come together? and did asteroids like bennu literally make the earth a habitable world7 for the landing site, they've chosen a vast wilderness. after travelling for billions of miles through space, the capsule is going to land somewhere over here in the utah desert. scientists think there's about 250 grams of ro

asteroid bennu, a 500m—wide rock hurtling through space. but it could also shed light on our very beginnings. so nasa decided to get up—close and personal with it. after a two—yearjourney, captured on camera, this was the moment the 0siris—rex spacecraft collected a sample — in a smash—and—grab that lasted just five seconds. these bits of bennu were safely stowed in a capsule, and now they're heading back to earth. we're looking at material that existed before our planet did, before the origin of life. in fact, some of it may have been from even before the solar system formed. so we're looking at the beginning of our story. how did our solar system form, how did asteroids come together? and did asteroids like bennu literally make the earth a habitable world? for the landing site, they've chosen a vast wilderness. after travelling for billions of miles through space, the capsule is going to land somewhere over here in the utah desert. scientists think there's about 250 grams of rock and dust inside. it doesn't sound like much. just a handful

asteroid bennu, a 500m wide rock hurtling through space.ce rocks that pose a danger to our planet. but it could also shed light on our very beginnings. so nasa decided to get up close and personal with it. after a two—year journey captured on camera, this was the moment the 0siris—rex spacecraft collected a sample in a smash—and—grab that lasted just five seconds. these bits of bennu were safely stowed in a capsule, and now they're heading back to earth. we're looking at material that existed before our planet did, before the origin of life. in fact, some of it may have been from even before the solar system formed. so we're looking at the beginning of our story. how did our solar system form, how did asteroids come together? and did asteroids like bennu literally make the earth a habitable world? for the landing site, they've chosen a vast wilderness. after travelling for billions of miles through space, the capsule is going to land somewhere over here in the utah desert. scientists think there's about 250 grams of rock and dust inside. it

and did asteroids like bennu literally make the earth a habitable world?through space, the capsule is going to land somewhere over here in the utah desert. scientists think there's about 250 grams of rock and dust inside. it doesn't sound like much. just a handful or so. but every single grain of this is precious. and scientists will study it to reveal the story of our solar system. the return won't be easy. the capsule will speed through the earth's atmosphere at more than 27,000 mph, experiencing temperatures of 3,000 degrees, before descending down to the ground slowed by parachutes. beeping. the nasa team has been practising in the desert, working out the best way to recover the craft after it comes down. the most important thing is to keep the extraterrestrial material inside free from contamination. of course, we study meteorites here on earth and there's a lot we can learn from those meteorites. but they have gone through earth's atmosphere and potentially had some contamination from earth. of course, we study meteorites here on earth and there's a

bennu tops the list of nasa�*s most hazardous space rocks. it�*s a perfectly preserved relic from the dawn of the solar system. it�*s going to keep scientists busy for a long time. one of the most important parts of a sample return mission is we take 75% of that sample, and we�*re going to lock it away for future generations, people who haven�*t even been born yet, to work in laboratories that don�*t exist yet, and instrumentation that you haven�*t thought of yet. so, i mean, it�*s an incredibly valuable, valuable sample that we�*re bringing back. the next stage of this mission will involve this military cargo plane. the canister containing the sample will be packaged up and loaded onto it and flown to thejohnson space centre in houston, where scientists are waiting to start the most exciting bit — opening it up to see exactly what�*s inside. the capsule is like a russian doll. different layers have to be removed to get to the dust and rocks inside. the hope is they could reveal the story of our solar system. rebecca morelle, bbc news, utah.

but bennu is not all bad.sules, they are these relics, leftovers from the formation of the early solar system. so there is an awful lot we can learn from them. scientists are desperate to get their carefully gloved hands on this asteroid sample once the capsule is open. it will be a painstaking process, a few weeks long, but they say the wait is going to be worth it. sad times for us here. washington, dc�*s national zoo is preparing to say farewell to three of its most popular celebrities — giant pandas tian tian, mei xiang and xiao qiji will be feted at a nine—day panda palooza, starting this saturday through october i. the party will celebrate dc�*s famous furry residents before they return to china as part of the zoo's agreement with the china wildlife conservation. the departure will leave the us capitol pandaless for the first time since 1999. that is it from us. we are handing over now to our colleagues in london. hello. the weather in the north atlantic is becoming a lot more turbulent. thejet stream is

but bennu is not all bad.e early solar system. so there is an awful lot we can learn from them. scientists are desperate to get their carefully gloved hands on this asteroid sample once the capsule is open. it will be a painstaking process, a few weeks long but they say the wait will be worth it. you are watching bbc news. hello. the weather in the north atlantic is becoming a lot more turbulent. thejet stream is increasing in strength and the weather will be turning more and more unsettled in the coming days, in fact, rest of the weekend. for some of us, it's going to be a real mixed bag with spells of wind and rain sweeping across the country. here's one such weather front that's sweeping across the uk right now. it's bringing outbreaks of rain almost anywhere. it won't be raining all the time. you can see sort of these distinct clumps of rain crossing the country, but with that also strengthening winds. and they are coming in from the southwest. actually, remnants of an old hurricane here. so temperatures e

it's hoped the debris taken from the bennu asteroid will provide some answers into how life began.s a professor at mit's department of aeronautics and astronautics. he explained to me what these samples could tell us. there was so much that was picked up that it was hard to actually close it off. and so they had so much stuff that a little bit leaked out at the end. but that's great. i mean, who complains about bringing back more than you originally planned? but it's really important. i mean, first of all, it's important for people to realise when we think of asteroids, they normally think about the asteroid belt between mars and jupiter, but there's a whole bunch of asteroids that are what we call earth—crossing. and that's why you mentioned before that there is a possibility that bennu might someday actually impact the earth. it certainly comes close enough to the earth that we could send a spacecraft there to to get a piece of it and bring it back to the earth, which currently we can't do for asteroids out in the asteroid belt — although someday, someday. and it's very interesti

the second reason is, bennu is a relic, left overfrom reason is, bennu is a relic, left over from the it is and it has remained unchanged. it is a bit like a time capsule, which gives scientists an insight into our own origins, how the planet formed and it could answer some questions like is the earth habitable, for example? scientists are eager to get their hands, carefully gloved hands, if to say because contamination is important with this sample. they are eager to get their hands on it, but first things first, it needs to make it safely down to the ground. let's now speak to dr natasha almeida, curator of meteorites, natural history museum here in london. very good to have you with us. what are you excited about when it comes to this asteroid? so are you excited about when it comes to this asteroid?— to this asteroid? so much. it is the laruest to this asteroid? so much. it is the largest sample _ to this asteroid? so much. it is the largest sample return. _ to this asteroid? so much. it is the largest sample return. 250 - to this asteroid? so much. it is the largest sample return

spacecraft osiris-rex brought back soil from near earth astroid bennu and skyler henry has that story. >> we have confirmed deployment. >> reporter: in a fly-by of earth, the osiris-rex spacecraft released the capsule containing astroid fragments from 63,000 miles out. >> has touchdown. >> reporter: the saucer-shaped capsule holding possible clues about the birth of the solar system slammed into earth's atmosphere and touched down in the utah desert. sunday's landing wraps up a seven-year 4 billion-mile voyage to transport the sample from an astroid called bennu here to planet earth. nasa officials spoke about the successful mission. >> it was pulse pounding, i'm sure, for you watching it, even more for us in the helicopters. we were with baited breath making sure we came down with a nice soft landing in the utah desert and it worked spectacularly well. >> reporter: the capsule holding the precious cargo was moved to a temporary clean room at the defense department's utah test and training range. >> we're hoping that we'll see organics, amino acids, the building blocks of life, as wel

ayuda de un paracaÍdas la cÁpsula espacial llegÓ a tierra llegaron once onzas de piedra y polvo de bennuÉs). >>> (informaciÓn en pantalla). >>>. >>> segÚn la nasa, la capital suya de unas 35 pulgadas del diÁmetro se desprendiÓ de la nave 4 horas y 62 millas de cruz lugar tierra y descendiÓ cargando las muestras del asteroide bennu 2 hombres de la nasa estuvieron en el lugar en helicÓptero equipados con mÁscaras del seguridad. y hicieron su aproximaciÓn a la misma. >>> la nave fue lanzo arda en septiembre del 2016 para explorar el asteroide bennu, al que llegÓ en el 2018 en octubre del 2022 aterrizÓ en un crÁter con ayuda de un brazo robÓtico recogiÓ la muestra que quedÓ sellada en el cÁpsula, y mÁs tarde tras recorrer miles de millones de millas que ante los ojos mundo aterrizÓ en la tierra segÚn la nasa con un claro propÓsito. la cÁpsula fue llevada temporalmente a uno sala en utah la muestra pronto se dirigirÁ al centro espacial johnson en houston para curaciÓn y anÁlisis. con esto termina una parte de una misiÓn que ha costado mil millones de dÓlares, el cohete emprendiÓ su viaje a ot

after seven long years, travelling billions of miles to bennu and back, the capsule is finally here. out of the dusty desert environment and into the safe and sterile clean room as quickly as possible. a quick knock to say they've arrived and the capsule is in. the painstaking and meticulous process begins. they need to remove the layers like a russian doll to get to the dust and rocks inside. the whole procedure will take weeks. so, why all this effort? bennu tops the list of nasa's most hazardous space rocks, so studying its make—up could help us to stop it if we ever need to. but it could also reveal more about our origins. it's a perfectly preserved relic from the dawn of the solar system. it's going to keep scientists busy for a long time. one of the most important parts of a sample return mission is we take 75% of the sample and we're going to lock it away for future generations — people who haven't even been born yet to work in laboratories that don't exist yet and instrumentation that you haven't thought of yet. so, it's incredibly valuable sample we are bringing back. scient

. >> linsey: nasa celebrating the successful end to the mission to to the asteroid bennu. the capsule parachuted into earth's atmosphere. inside a sample from the asteroid believed to be more than 4 billion years old. scientists hope it will shed light on the solar system. here's abc's ike ejiochi. >> reporter: tonight, touchdown. osiris rex making landfall in testing grounds in salt lake city, the first time experts say the u.s. has brought an asteroid sample back from space. it could hold the answers to life's most existential questions. >> this has never happened before. we may be able to unlock some really important clues to where we came from. >> reporter: the microwave size capsule landing safely this morning. inside, around 9 ounces of rubble from bennu, an asteroid as old as the solar system itself, collected using a long-stick vacuum. >> we're trying to learn what planets are made of. where did the water and organic molecules on the earth and other planets come from. here's some samples of that that will come back to the earth to be studied in laboratories all ove

it sounds like bennu was a bad boy. is that the deal, miles?were saying this thing might hit the earth 100 or 200 years from now? are we going to have to get will smith up there? >> slated to fly between the moon and earth in the next decade. depending on how that goes, in another 50 years beyond that, it could very well have our number painted on it, and we need to watch bennu carefully. this won't cause a dinosaur-like extinction event, but it's about the size of an empire state building and would cause a huge regional catastrophe. it's important nasa keep a close eye on bennu. >> we have the technology, do we not, to potentially deal with that, i suppose in a hundred or 200 years, we damn well better have the technology to deal with it. we just experimented with knocking these things off course. >> just about a year ago, almost exactly a year ago, this dart mission proved we could auger into an astroid and perturb its orbit ever so slightly, but just enough, if you do it far enough in advance to make a spectacular light show as opposed to a

all of this effort is to solve the mystery of what's asteroid bennu is made of.d to. but it could also reveal more about our origins. it's a perfectly preserved relic from the dawn of the solar system. this was the moment the sample was collected in a five—second smash and grab, before it was safely stowed in the capsule for its return to earth. the rock and dust will be divided up between scientists around the world, including the team at london's natural history museum. we will be getting a small vial�*s worth, which will be made up of thousands of individual, tiny little grains, which we will analyse one by one. we're all unbelievably excited. we've thought about it, we've talked about it, we've written papers about it, we've dreamt about what it's going to be, and finally, we're actually going to see it and find out what it really is. the hope is this small but invaluable sample will shed light on the story of our solar system, and answer some of the biggest questions we have. rebecca morelle, bbc news, utah. the most important bits of dust in the world right

inside is the most i precious sample of fragments from an asteroid called bennu. .lling billions of miles to bennu and back the capsule is here. the priority is getting it out of the desert environment and into the safe and sterile clean room quickly. a quick knock to say they have arrived and the capsule is in. the painstaking process begins. they need to remove the layers like a russian dool doll. why all this effort? bennu tops the list of nasa's most hazardous space rocks and studying it could help stop it if we need to it. but it is a relic from the start of the solar system. one of the most important parts of mission, we take 75% of that sample and we are going to lock it away for future generations. people who haven't been born yet, that work in laboratories that don't exist yet. it is an valuable sample that we are bringing back. it is an valuable sample that we are bringing back-— bringing back. scientists think they have a treasure _ bringing back. scientists think they have a treasure trove _ bringing back. scientists think they have a treasure trove on _

the team here in utah, don't want the ground to get mixed up with bits of bennu.ver the capsule. 0pening it up will be a painstaking and slow process taking several weeks but scientists say the weight will be worth it. from the super cold of outer space the super cult of the north sea and hundreds of people took the ultimate plungers morning, stripping naked and braving the waters of the north sea to mark the waters of the north sea to mark the autumn equinox. the proceeds are going to a mental health charity. 0rganisers say the event is about taking a risk and enjoying the moments of purejoy taking a risk and enjoying the moments of pure joy and freedom. hello there. wet and very windy weather on the way overnight for some of us. now, as far as the rainfall goes, the heaviest falls of rain will be across western scotland, where we're likely to pick up around 30 to 50 millimetres, double that over the high ground. so there could be some localised flooding building in across parts of scotland. it's all down to an area of low pressure. a rapidly developing low, that

bennu was formed millions of years ago on a larger asteroid and then bennu broke off in the early yearsly brought back 250 grams? it get a sample, why have they only brought back 250 grams?- get a sample, why have they only brought back 250 grams? it does not sound like a — brought back 250 grams? it does not sound like a lot. _ brought back 250 grams? it does not sound like a lot. what _ brought back 250 grams? it does not sound like a lot. what we _ brought back 250 grams? it does not sound like a lot. what we do - brought back 250 grams? it does not sound like a lot. what we do with - sound like a lot. what we do with the samples, it is quite a large sample we have brought back. it is just hard. it was challenging to take that sample. if you read about the amazing work this incredible team did, they got out to the asteroid. it was not like what we thought it would look like. we thought it would look like. we thought it would be like a smooth beach and it was extremely rocky terrain. a great deal of work went into orbiting the asteroid and looking at it from all directions and finding

landing safely after the seven year, 4.4 billion mile mission inside, around nine ounces of rubble from bennu, an asteroid as old as the solar system itself collected using a long stick vacuum. we're trying to learn what planets are made of, where did the water and the organic molecules on the earth and other planets come from? >> and here's here's some samples of that that are going to come back to the earth to be studied in laboratory studies all over the world for decades, which is critical because nasa science artists predict bennu about the size of the empire state building has a rare one. >> in 2000, 700 chance of striking earth in the year 2182. >> we think it looks a lot like the objects that might have brought some of the precursors to life to our own planet. >> and so when we have the opportunity to study the sample in some of the most incredible analytical facilities in the world, we're going to get, i think, one step closer to answering the question of how did life originate on our own planet? >> nasa says a c-17 cargo plane with scientists will fly the sample to the johnson space

nasa's osiris—rex spacecraft is sending home samples from the surface of bennu, which will land in autah desert later. let's return to one of our top stories this hour — that's the osiris—rex space mission. the seven—year project is expected to reach its conclusion later today, when a spacecraft brings back to earth samples from the surface of the asteroid bennu. let's now speak to dr charley lineweaver from australian national university. very good to speak to you. how exciting is this for a space worship like you? fix, exciting is this for a space worship like ou? �* ., ., , exciting is this for a space worship like ou? �* ., ., ., like you? a lot of things can go wron: like you? a lot of things can go wrong so _ like you? a lot of things can go wrong so we — like you? a lot of things can go wrong so we are _ like you? a lot of things can go wrong so we are on _ like you? a lot of things can go wrong so we are on the - like you? a lot of things can go wrong so we are on the edge . like you? a lot of things can go| wrong so we are on the edge of like you? a lot of things can go - wro