Chasing Satellite OSIRIS-REx

September 8th, 2016. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission launched from Florida. By October 20, 2020, it had reached asteroid Bennu, collected a soil sample from its surface, and launched the capsule holding the sample back to Earth. On September 24, 2023, it touched down in Utah near the Salt Flats.

picture of our group at the summit of a mountain

We were there to meet it. We left Lehi, Utah around 3AM. To avoid potential road closures, we traveled into Nevada and then back into Utah, until we reached the base of Dutch mountain. We hiked 4 miles up the mountain to reach the summit, where we would have a clear view of the valley where the capsule was expected to land.

picture of our route up the mountain

While the capsule overshot its target landing zone by a few miles, we still got to hear its sonic boom (and we caught the sound on video).

On the way down, we ran into Robert Ward and other officials there to observe the capsule landing. They were shocked that we were there unofficially. Fortunately, they offered us a ride back to our car in the back of their truck.

picture of us in the back of the truck

He actually later posted about us on Facebook!

This was the start of our group’s many adventures together, but to be honest, it’s still my favorite.