In 2016, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at asteroid Bennu to study and collect samples for return to Earth. The mission advanced planetary science and resource knowledge. Sample analysis offers clues to solar system origins and potential asteroid mining.

The OSIRIS-REx Bennu sample return mission in 2016 inspired poetry about exploration and the origins of life. Poets began to weave narratives around the journey of discovery, reflecting on humanity's connection to the cosmos and our place within it, often invoking themes of wonder and existential inquiry.