Overview: It is a mission that might prove impossible. In the fall of 2020, a NASA spacecraft called OSIRIS-REx attempts to reach out and grab a piece of an asteroid named Bennu and bring it back to Earth.

The OSIRIS-REx team has just three chances to extend its spacecraft's specialized arm, touch down for five seconds, and collect material from the surface of Bennu.

Can they pull it off?

DVD Verdict: Here in 'NOVA: Touching the Asteroid,' PBS takes you inside the mission as the team plans its approach: They must map the asteroid's surface, choose possible collection sites, and rehearse the risky maneuver.

If the collection is successful, scientists could gain great insight into Earth's own origins - and even learn to defend against rogue asteroids that may one day threaten our planet.

Ok, so taking it from the top, OSIRIS-REx seeked answers to the questions that are central to the human experience: Where did we come from? What is our destiny? Asteroids, the leftover debris from the solar system formation process, can answer these questions and teach us about the history of the sun and planets.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft traveled to Bennu, a carbonaceous asteroid whose regolith may record the earliest history of our solar system and thought to possibly contain the molecular precursors to the origin of life and the Earth’s oceans.

Bennu is also one of the most potentially hazardous asteroids, as it has a relatively high probability of impacting the Earth late in the 22nd century.

OSIRIS-REx determine's Bennu’s physical and chemical properties, which will be critical to know in the event of an impact mitigation mission. Finally, asteroids like Bennu contain natural resources such as water, organics, and precious metals.

In the future, these asteroids may one day fuel the exploration of the solar system by robotic and crewed spacecraft.

Indeed, OSIRIS-REx’s key science objectives included:

Return and analyze a sample of Bennu’s surface
Map the asteroid
Document the sample site
Measure the orbit deviation caused by non-gravitational forces (the Yarkovsky effect)
Compare observations at the asteroid to ground-based observations

In 2023, OSIRIS-REx's sample return capsule is scheduled to bring a piece of Bennu back to Earth. But first, the spacecraft will conduct an in-depth study of the rocky body and help scientists learn more about how sunlight can shift an asteroid's position.

FYI: On October 28th, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission successfully placed the spacecraft’s sample collector head into its Sample Return Capsule (SRC). This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.