FILE - This file mosaic image composed of 12 PolyCam images collected on Dec. 2, 2018, and provided by NASA shows the asteroid Bennu. The Osiris-Rex spacecraft entered orbit Monday, Dec. 31, 2018, around the asteroid Bennu, 70 million miles (110 million kilometers) from Earth. Itâs the smallest celestial body ever to be orbited by a spacecraft. Bennu is just 1,600 feet (500 meters) across. (NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona via AP, File)
The Associated Press
LAUREL, Md. (AP) - A NASA spacecraft has gone into orbit around an ancient asteroid, setting a pair of records.
The Osiris-Rex spacecraft entered orbit Monday around the asteroid Bennu, 70 million miles (110 million kilometers) from Earth. It's the smallest celestial body ever to be orbited by a spacecraft. Bennu is just 1,600 feet (500 meters) across.
The spacecraft's laps are barely a mile (1.6 kilometers) above the asteroid's surface, another record.
Osiris-Rex arrived at Bennu in early December and flew in formation with it until the latest maneuver. The goal is to grab gravel samples in 2020 for return to Earth in 2023.
The New Year's Eve milestone occurred just hours before another NASA explorer, New Horizons, was set to fly past an icy space rock beyond Pluto.
FILE - This file illustration provided by NASA depicts the Osiris-Rex spacecraft at the asteroid Bennu. The Osiris-Rex spacecraft entered orbit Monday, Dec. 31, 2018, around the asteroid Bennu, 70 million miles (110 million kilometers) from Earth. Itâs the smallest celestial body ever to be orbited by a spacecraft. Bennu is just 1,600 feet (500 meters) across. (Conceptual Image Lab/Goddard Space Flight Center/NASA via AP, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - This May 21, 2016, file photo provided by NASA shows the Osiris-Rex spacecraft inside a servicing facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida after arriving from Lockheed Martin's facility near Denver. The Osiris-Rex spacecraft entered orbit Monday, Dec. 31, 2018, around the asteroid Bennu, 70 million miles (110 million kilometers) from Earth. Itâs the smallest celestial body ever to be orbited by a spacecraft. Bennu is just 1,600 feet (500 meters) across. (Dimitri Gerondidakis/NASA via AP, File)
The Associated Press