Why NASA is bringing some of this asteroid back to Earth

Asteroid Bennu is ready for its close-up.  On Tuesday, at around 6:12 pm, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will attempt to take a tiny piece of Bennu to return to Earth, a process that will take just 16 seconds. (You can watch a livestream of the event here.) Mission development started over a decade ago, and it’s already been four years since the spacecraft launched. Even after the sample is safe in the spacecraft, it won’t return to Earth until 2023.  Why go through all this trouble to sample a space rock? It turns out that despite their humble appearances, asteroids have a lot to offer scientists.  Read more...More about Nasa, Asteroids, Science, and Space