# OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule

> capsule that returned samples collected during the OSIRIS-REx mission

**Wikidata**: [Q124613090](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124613090)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/osiris-rex-sample-return-capsule

## Summary
The OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule is the 50-kg reentry module that brought back to Earth the pristine carbon-rich material NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected from asteroid Bennu. It landed under parachute at the Utah Test and Training Range on 24 September 2023, completing the first U.S. mission to return an asteroid sample.

## Key Facts
- Returned to Earth: 24 September 2023, 14:52 UTC, Utah Test and Training Range
- Launch: 8 September 2016, 23:05 UTC, Cape Canaveral SLC-41 on Atlas V 411 (AV-067)
- Physical specs: 50 cm tall, 81 cm diameter, 50 kg mass
- Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin Space; operated by University of Arizona; funded by NASA
- Instance of: reentry capsule (heritage from Stardust and Genesis missions)

## FAQs
### Q: When and where did the capsule land?
A: It touched down at 14:52 UTC on 24 September 2023 inside the Utah Test and Training Range, west of Salt Lake City.

### Q: How big and heavy is the capsule?
A: It measures 81 cm across, 50 cm high, and weighs 50 kg—about the size of a small carry-on suitcase.

### Q: What rocket launched it?
A: United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V 411 (tail number AV-067) sent the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft—and its attached capsule—skyward on 8 September 2016.

## Why It Matters
The capsule delivered the first pristine asteroid samples ever obtained by the United States, giving scientists direct access to unaltered material from the early solar system. Because Bennu is a carbon-rich near-Earth object, the grains and dust inside the capsule contain organic compounds and water-bearing minerals that could reveal how Earth acquired its oceans and how life began. The capsule’s flawless high-speed reentry and gentle recovery proved that small-sample-return technologies matured through NASA’s Discovery program can work for future planetary missions, including Mars sample return. For researchers, the capsule’s contents are a time capsule older than the planets themselves, allowing precise dating and compositional studies impossible with meteorites that have been contaminated by Earth’s environment.

## Notable For
- First U.S. spacecraft element to bring asteroid material back to Earth
- Survived atmospheric entry at ~12.4 km/s, one of the fastest Earth returns ever
- Smallest NASA reentry capsule since Stardust, yet carried hundreds of grams of Bennu regolith
- Landed within 200 m of the Utah recovery team’s target ellipse after a 7-year, 6-billion-km round trip

## Body
### Design & Heritage
Lockheed Martin built the capsule using carbon-composite heat-shield technology flown on Stardust and Genesis. The blunt-body aeroshell, 81 cm in diameter, protected samples from temperatures above 2,800 °C during entry.

### Flight Timeline
- Launch: 8 Sep 2016, 23:05 UTC, Cape Canaveral SLC-41
- Sample collection at Bennu: 20 Oct 2020
- Earth return cruise: May 2021 – Sep 2023
- Capsule release: 24 Sep 2023, 13:42 UTC, 102,000 km above Earth
- Entry interface: 14:42 UTC, 120 km altitude
- Main chute deploy: 14:49 UTC
- Landing: 14:52 UTC, Utah Test and Training Range

### Recovery & Containment
Helicopter teams reached the capsule within minutes, placed it in a nitrogen-purged transport crate, and flew it to a temporary clean room at Utah’s Dugway Proving Ground. Within 48 hours the sealed sample canister was flown to NASA’s Johnson Space Center for opening and analysis.

## References

1. [Source](https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/osiris-rex.htm)
2. [Source](https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/osiris-rex.html)
3. Jonathan's Space Report
4. [Source](https://nyti.ms/2jPl7rT)
5. [Source](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2016-055A)
6. [Source](https://smd-cms.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/osirisrexpresskit-2023.pdf)