(Update: Landed) NASA’s first asteroid sample arriving on Earth tomorrow | Watch live

The first sample of an asteroid collected in space by the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security-Regolith Explorer) mission will be arriving on on Earth Sunday, September 24. The sample capsule with material from asteroid Bennu will land in the Utah desert.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will not land itself on Earth but will release the sample capsule from 63,000 miles ( about 102,000 kilometres) above Earth's surface. Thereafter, the spacecraft will embark on its next mission to asteroid Apophis: OSIRIS-APEX (OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer).

Live coverage of the capsule landing will air on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website and social media accounts starting at 10 a.m. EDT (8 a.m. MDT).

Tomorrow, NASA’s first sample of an asteroid will arrive on Earth!NASA’s OSIRIS-REx is flying by Earth to drop off a bit of 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu. Live broadcast starts at 10am EDT tomorrow – don’t miss it! https://t.co/U8T7pZaI5r#ToBennuAndBack#OSIRISREx pic.twitter.com/I3MPWC0v8e

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) September 23, 2023

The sample capsule contains rocks and dust from asteroid Bennu that could be more than 4.5 billion years old. By analysing the samples in laboratories, scientists hope to address dozens of questions about asteroids, the early solar system, and the origins of life.

Update 1

The sample capsule touched down in the desert at 8:52 a.m. MDT (10:52 a.m. EDT) on Sunday, September 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. Thereafter, the capsule was transported by helicopter to a temporary clean room set up in a hangar on the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. 

After disassembling the sample capsule and packaging its components, the team packed them in shipping containers. The items are scheduled to be delivered on Monday, September 25, to their permanent home at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the agency said on Monday. 

After a journey of nearly 3.9 billion miles, the #OSIRISREx asteroid sample return capsule is back on Earth. Teams perform the initial safety assessment—the first persons to come into contact with this hardware since it was on the other side of the solar system. pic.twitter.com/KVDWiovago

— NASA (@NASA) September 24, 2023