Who Successfully Returned Asteroid Samples?

Only a few missions have successfully collected samples from asteroids and returned them to Earth, providing invaluable insights into the early solar system.

The top 3

1. Japan's Hayabusa Series Pioneered: JAXA's Hayabusa 1 was the first to return asteroid samples from Itokawa in 2010, followed by Hayabusa 2, which brought back samples from Ryugu in December 2020.
2. US OSIRIS-REx Mission Latest Success: NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission collected a sample from asteroid Bennu in 2020 and successfully returned it to Earth on September 24, 2023, making it the first U.S. mission of its kind.
3. China's Tianwen-2 Targets Unique Object: China's Tianwen-2 mission is targeting Kamoʻoalewa, a quasi-satellite asteroid, for sample collection and return, following its launch in May 2025.

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