NASA to send spacecraft on 1.2B-mile journey to asteroid
NASA is less than a month away from launching a spacecraft designed to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth for the first time.
Scientists are hoping the seven-year mission, set to launch on Sept. 8 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, will give them information about the makeup of the solar system, about life on Earth and the potential of life elsewhere in the universe, and about asteroids and how they could affect Earth.
“This mission exemplifies our nation’s quest to boldly go and study our solar system and beyond to better understand the universe and our place in it,” said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “NASA science is the greatest engine of scientific discovery on the planet and [this mission] embodies our directorate’s goal to innovate, explore, discover and inspire.”
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