A sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after landing in the desert at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range on September 24, 2023. The sample was collected from asteroid Bennu by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in October 2020.Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber
NASAThe first asteroid sample return mission returns to Earth…
Records of space flights by NASA astronauts…
And NASA’s Artemis II mission is progressing ahead of launch…
Some of the stories we want to share with you – this week at NASA!
NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission lands
On September 24, the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule carrying rock and dust samples from asteroid Bennu made its historic return to Earth, marking the end of NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission.
“And a touchdown osiris rex Sample return capsule! ”
The next day, the sample return capsule will be transported to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the sample material inside the capsule will be managed, stored, and shared with scientists around the world.
![Expedition 69 NASA astronaut Frank Rubio after landing](https://scitechdaily.com/images/Expedition-69-NASA-Astronaut-Frank-Rubio-After-Landing-777x469.jpg 777w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/Expedition-69-NASA-Astronaut-Frank-Rubio-After-Landing-400x241.jpg 400w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/Expedition-69-NASA-Astronaut-Frank-Rubio-After-Landing-768x464.jpg 768w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/Expedition-69-NASA-Astronaut-Frank-Rubio-After-Landing-1536x927.jpg 1536w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/Expedition-69-NASA-Astronaut-Frank-Rubio-After-Landing-2048x1236.jpg 2048w)
Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitri Peterin touch down in a remote area near the town of Zhekazgan in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, minutes after NASA’s 69th Expedition Astronaut Frank Rubio is rescued from the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft. The trio returned to Earth after spending 371 days in space as members of Expedition 68-69 on the International Space Station. For Rubio, his mission is the longest single spaceflight ever by a U.S. astronaut.Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
NASA astronaut returns to Earth, sets record
This week saw another historic return from space by NASA astronaut Frank Rubio. This was on his September 27th.
After spending a U.S. record-setting 371 days in space, Rubio and his two crew members landed safely in Kazakhstan.
“Rubio’s record quest is over.”
Rubio’s long-term mission will provide researchers with an opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on humans.
![All four RS-25 engines attached to the rocket core stage](https://scitechdaily.com/images/All-Four-RS-25-Engines-Installed-Rocket-Core-Stage-777x518.jpg 777w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/All-Four-RS-25-Engines-Installed-Rocket-Core-Stage-400x267.jpg 400w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/All-Four-RS-25-Engines-Installed-Rocket-Core-Stage-768x512.jpg 768w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/All-Four-RS-25-Engines-Installed-Rocket-Core-Stage-1536x1024.jpg 1536w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/All-Four-RS-25-Engines-Installed-Rocket-Core-Stage-2048x1365.jpg 2048w)
Engineers and technicians from NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Boeing at NASA’s Michaud Assembly Facility in New Orleans installed all four RS-25 engines on the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. This rocket will help power the first manned Artemis mission to the moon. The yellow core stage is installed horizontally in Michaud’s final assembly area. The engine is located at the bottom of the rocket stage in a square shape like the legs of a table.Credit: NASA/Eric Bordelon
Artemis II rocket and crew progress
A team at NASA’s Michaud Assembly Facility in New Orleans structurally coupled all four RS-25 engines to the core stage of NASA’s Artemis II moon rocket.
Meanwhile, the Artemis II astronauts recently completed the first of a series of integrated ground system tests at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The Artemis II test flight around the moon will be the agency’s first manned mission under Artemis.
This conceptual animation is an example of what can be seen through certified solar viewing glasses or a hand-held solar filter during the annular solar eclipse over the United States on October 14, 2023. Annular solar eclipses are famous for the following phenomena: A “ring of fire” effect that appears near the edge of the moon. This happens because the moon is slightly farther away from Earth and appears too small to completely block the sun. Credit: NASA
Preview of October 14th’s “Ring of Fire” annular solar eclipse
On October 14th, an annular solar eclipse will cross the United States from Oregon to Texas. An annular solar eclipse is also known as a “ring of fire” solar eclipse because the moon does not completely block the sun, but instead leaves behind a bright solar ring. For more information about solar eclipses, visit solarsystem.nasa.gov/eclipses.
That’s what’s happening this week at @NASA.