NASA’S sample return mission to earth- bound asteroid ‘Bennu’: All you need to know !

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will be launched on September 8 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will travel to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu - that could one day destroy our planet - and bring a sample back to Earth for intensive study.

The mission will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth, NASA said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The launch of OSIRIS-REx is the beginning a seven-year journey to return pristine samples from asteroid Bennu," said OSIRIS-REx Principal Investigator Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson.

"The team has built an amazing spacecraft, and we are well-equipped to investigate Bennu and return with our scientific treasure," Lauretta said.