The USPS issued the stamp to celebrate OSIRIS-REx’s return to Earth after successfully collecting a sample from an asteroid, providing valuable insights into the solar system’s formation.
The stamp design features an artist’s rendition of the capsule parachuting to Earth in Utah’s desert, containing the asteroid sample. Alan Dingman illustrated it using NASA’s reference images.
Special design details include an image of Bennu’s surface in the selvage, with outer space above. The pane includes four images representing OSIRIS-REx’s mission milestones.
The First Day of Issue Ceremony held in Salt Lake City, Utah, near the capsule’s landing area.
In 2023, the USPS issued a Forever stamp commemorating NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, aiming to study and map asteroid Bennu and bring samples back to Earth for analysis. OSIRIS-REx launched on September 8, 2016, reaching Bennu in December 2018.
The spacecraft, equipped with specialized instruments, spent nearly two years mapping Bennu’s surface and collecting samples in October 2020 using a touch-and-go maneuver. Despite some material escaping, it was the largest sample ever retrieved from an asteroid and the first taken by the US.
