Canada to receive asteroid sample

Photo: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

On Sunday morning an asteroid sample collected as part of NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission landed in the Utah desert.

The Canadian Space Agency contributed to the mission and as a result, a portion of the asteroid material will go to Canada.

The sample was retrieved on asteroid Bennu and could hold the answer to questions about the solar system's history and the origins of water and life on Earth.

The Canadian OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter instrument played a key role in the mission. It was used to scan and measure the shape of the entire surface of the asteroid and to help select the best site to collect the specimen.

The sample will be sent to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, where it will be curated and distributed to scientists and international collaborators.