SpaceX launches European asteroid probe as hurricane weather closes in
Dodging stormy weather ahead of Hurricane Milton, SpaceX launched the European Space Agency’s $398 million Hera probe Monday on a follow-up flight to find out precisely how a moonlet orbiting a small asteroid was affected by the high-speed impact of NASA’s DART probe in 2022. The launching was in doubt until the last moment, with thick clouds and rain […]
NASA returns sample from asteroid Bennu to Earth
A NASA capsule carrying the largest sample ever collected from an asteroid has returned to Earth. The capsule, which landed in the Utah desert at 3.52pm, contained around 250g of rocks and dust collected from asteroid Bennu as part of NASA’s Osiris-Rex mission. Experts say the carbon-rich, near-Earth asteroid serves as a time capsule from […]