https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasas-osiris-rex-successfully-touches-asteroid-bennu/ > For the first time ever, a NASA probe has performed a sample-snagging operation on an asteroid in deep space. > The agency’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft spiraled down to the surface of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu this afternoon (Oct. 20) to grab material that mission team members hope harbors clues about the solar system’s early days and the rise of life on Earth.