OSIRIS-REx Mission Design: Narrated Feature

OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program. Its goal is to explore near-Earth asteroid Bennu, a remnant from the dawn of the solar system, and to return a sample of Bennu to Earth. OSIRIS-REx launched in September 2016 and arrived at asteroid Bennu on December 3, 2018. The spacecraft is spending more than a year surveying and mapping Bennu before collecting a sample, ensuring that it can safely descend to the asteroid’s surface and retrieve a sample of high science value. This video illustrates the OSIRIS-REx Mission Design in detail, through artist concept animations, data visualizations, launch footage, and imagery from the spacecraft itself. Each phase of the mission is depicted, from launch through sample return, providing an in-depth look at this journey to Bennu and back.