NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is scheduled to return samples of Asteroid Bennu to Earth. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center ...

The asteroid appeared as a speck of light to the spacecraft’s UA-built PolyCam camera, but Bennu will seem to grow now that OSIRIS-REx has begun the approach phase of the mission.

What was the most surprising or unexpected thing that happened as the mission unfolded? There are so many. I call Bennu the “trickster asteroid” because it constantly surprised us and challenged us.

Tucker pointed at a number in parentheses and said, that’s your asteroid. “I was expecting a certificate or something,” Reddy said. He named the asteroid 78118 Bharat, which is India in Hindi.