This (silent) animation shows the OSIRISREx spacecraft deploying its Touch and Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) to collect a sample of regolith (loose rocks and dirt) from the surface of asteroid Bennu. The sampler head, with the regolith safely inside, is then sealed up in the spacecraft's Sample Return Capsule, which will be returned to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023. Scientists will study the sample for clues about the early solar system and the origins of life.

Credit: NASA Goddard