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One gutter strip of 8 imperforate stamps commemorating the return to earth of the capsule containing sample material from the asteroid Bennu.  The strip contains 4 stamps from 2 adjoining panes in a press sheet, separated by a vertical gutter.  The wide gutter includes images from the side panel of the right-side pane that tell the brief story of the mission.  Two sets of plate numbers also appear below the bottom stamp in each column.

From the USPS: 

This new 20-stamp pane from the U.S. Postal Service celebrates NASA’s seven-year OSIRIS-REx mission to study and map the asteroid Bennu and return a sample of the surface to Earth in September 2023. This is the first pristine sample of an asteroid collected by the United States, and it will help scientists learn how our solar system formed.

The stamp artwork shows the capsule containing the sample parachuting to the Utah Test and Training Range, a U.S. Department of Defense facility in the desert. A depiction of Bennu’s surface appears at the bottom of the pane’s selvage with outer space above — deep blue and dappled with celestial bodies. A view of the asteroid is in the upper right corner.

OSIRIS-REx left Earth aboard a rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, FL, on Sept. 8, 2016, then orbited the sun for a year before passing close to Earth for a gravity assist. The spacecraft arrived in the asteroid’s vicinity in December 2018 and got to work. With its special cameras and spectrometers, it began photographing and mapping Bennu’s surface to determine the best site from which to collect samples.

The time for the rendezvous arrived in October 2020. To carry out its task, the spacecraft did not actually land on the asteroid but instead slowly descended toward the surface and extended a robotic arm. A collection device at the hand-end of the arm then released a sudden puff of nitrogen gas that sent up a cloud of dust and rocks from Bennu’s surface. More than 2 ounces of these materials were captured in a special container in the collection device, which then closed and retracted into the spacecraft. On May 10, 2021, OSIRIS-REx began its flight back toward Earth. Its container of asteroid dust and rocks, enclosed in a special capsule, will parachute to the Utah desert on Sept. 24, 2023.”

The vertical gutter strip has been guillotine-cut from a imperf press sheet of 9 panes. 

This item is Post Office fresh and, of course, mint never hinged.

The illustration may be a stock image.

Terms: Satisfaction guaranteed. Discount on shipping for multiple purchases. Please ask before bidding if you have any questions.

See our other items for more modern United States imperforate stamps, First Day Covers, souvenir cards and other collectibles.


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