Touch-and-go: US spacecraft sampling asteroid for return - Associated Press

(AP) — After almost two years circling an ancient asteroid hundreds of millions of miles away, a NASA spacecraft this week will attempt to descend to the treacherous, boulder-packed surface and snatch a handful of rubble.

takes its first crack at collecting asteroid samples for return to Earth, a feat accomplished so far only by Japan.

Brimming with names inspired by Egyptian mythology, the Osiris-Rex mission is looking to bring back at least 2 ounces (60 grams) worth of asteroid Bennu, the biggest otherworldly haul from beyond the moon.

The van-sized spacecraft is aiming for the relatively flat middle of a tennis court-sized crater named Nightingale — a spot comparable to a few parking places here on Earth.

Once it drops out of its half-mile-high (0.75 kilometer-high) orbit around Bennu, the spacecraft will take a deliberate four hours to make it all the way down, to just above the surface.

The solar-orbiting asteroid, which swings by Earth every six years, could take aim at us late in the next century.

The team fell behind and bumped the second and final touch-and-go dress rehearsal for the spacecraft to August.

In either case, the spacecraft would return to orbit around Bennu and try again in January at another location.