01
Sep
Washington: NASA has said its spacecraft on first asteroid sample return mission will pass about 16,000 km above the Earth on September 22. Using the Earth as a slingshot, the spacecraft OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security - Regolith Explorer) will receive an assist to complete its journey to the asteroid Bennu.OSIRIS-REx is undertaking a challenging mission to visit the near-Earth asteroid, survey the surface, collect samples and deliver them safely back to the Earth. The spacecraft is halfway through its two-year outbound journey, and now OSIRIS-REx needs an extra boost to successfully rendezvous with Bennu.Bennu's orbit around the Sun…