NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft begins trip home after collecting asteroid samples

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft began its anticipated two-year trip home to Earth after collecting samples from an asteroid on Monday, leaving the ancient space rock Bennu behind.

The spacecraft has spent about two years flying near and around it after it reached the rock in 2018 and began collecting rubble from the surface this past fall. It is being considered the biggest cosmic haul for the U.S. since the Apollo moon rocks and while NASA has returned with comic dust and solar wind samples, this is the first time it's gone after pieces from an asteroid.

Scientists are hoping to uncover some of the solar system's secrets from the samples. Bennu is considered to be a broken chunk from a bigger asteroid and is believed to hold the preserved building blocks of the solar system and potentially could shed light on how the planets formed and even how life arose on Earth. It could even potentially improve Earth's odds against any incoming rocks.

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