NASA’s Final Tally Shows Spacecraft Returned Double the Amount of Asteroid Rubble

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—NASA finally has counted up all the asteroid samples returned by a spacecraft last fall—and it’s double the rubble return goal. Officials reported Thursday that the Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected 121.6 grams (4.29 ounces) of dust and pebbles from asteroid Bennu. That’s just over half a cup and the biggest cosmic haul ever from beyond the moon. It took NASA longer than expected to pry open the sample container because of stuck fasteners. The black, carbon-rich samples—the first ever collected from an asteroid by NASA—are stored at a special curation lab at Houston’s Johnson Space Center....