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Ten years after NASA selected UArizona to lead the OSIRIS-REx mission, the spacecraft successfully completed its most treacherous and rewarding task: sample collection.

NASA will make history on Oct. 20 by attempting to grab a  sample from an asteroid. UArizona professor Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for the OSIRIS-REx mission, discusses the significance.

Here's what will happen on Oct. 20, when the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descends to asteroid Bennu to pick up a sample of pristine material from the formation of the solar system.

The UArizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission will attempt to collect a sample from asteroid Bennu on Oct. 20. Before the spacecraft touches the surface, scientists are learning more about the material that makes up the asteroid.

The UArizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission is poised to accomplish a first for NASA: collect a sample from a near-Earth asteroid and bring it back home. As the Oct. 20 collection date nears, here are 25 facts about the mission.

In just a few weeks, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will descend to asteroid Bennu's boulder-strewn surface and collect a sample of the asteroid's rocks and dust.

NASA will hold a media teleconference to provide an update on the agency's first attempt to make contact with the surface of asteroid Bennu and collect a sample next month.

Bits of the asteroid Vesta have been found on the mission's target asteroid Bennu, highlighting the variety of asteroids in the solar system and what it says about its evolution.

While studying the asteroid Bennu up close, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft witnessed periodic outbursts of material being kicked up from the surface. Scientists detail the observations in a new collection of research papers.

During its final practice run in preparation for sample collection at asteroid Bennu, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft approached the surface closer than ever before.