theverge
NASA collected a sample from an asteroid for the first time — here’s why it matters
![](https://tarekeless.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1259137511.0-xXO8lW-780x470.jpeg)
Victoria Thiem, system safety engineer from Lockheed Martin, checks the temperature of the actual size OSIRIS-REx’s return capsule sample during the recovery rehearsal at Lockheed Martin, Waterton Canyon campus in Littleton, Colorado on Tuesday, June 27, 2023. | Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post
The OSIRIS-REx mission, launched in 2016, has collected as much as several hundred grams of asteroid material, which could help scientists understand the earliest stages of the solar system.