NASA’s final tally shows spacecraft returned double the amount of asteroid rubble

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA finally has counted up all the asteroid samples returned by a spacecraft last fall. And it’s double the rubble goal. NASA reported Thursday that the Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected 121 grams of dust and pebbles from asteroid Bennu. That’s just over half a cup and the biggest cosmic haul ever from beyond the moon. It took NASA longer than expected to pry open the sample container because of stuck fasteners. The black, carbon-rich samples are stored at a special curation lab at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. The spacecraft is now on its way to another space rock, but it won’t stop for samples.