(music throughout) Like boot prints on the Moon,
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft left its mark on asteroid Bennu.
Now, new images — taken during the spacecraft's
final fly-over on April 7, 2021 — reveal the aftermath of the historic feat.
The spacecraft flew within 3.7 km of the asteroid —
the closest it has been since the Touch-and-Go, or TAG, sample collection event on October 20, 2020.
During TAG, the spacecraft's sampling head sunk 48.8 centimeters
into the asteroid's surface and simultaneously fired a pressurized charge of nitrogen gas,
churning up surface material and driving it into the collection chamber.
Four of the spacecraft's back-away thrusters launched rocks and dust
during the maneuver as OSIRIS-REx pushed back off into space.
The spacecraft will remain in Bennu's vicinity until departure on May 10,
when the mission will begin its two-year return cruise back to Earth.
Ultimately, it will deliver the collected sample to the
Utah Test and Training Range on September 24, 2023.