United Launch Alliance (ULA) has launched Nasa's first asteroid sampling mission OSIRIS-Rex into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, US.

During the launch, an Atlas V rocket from ULA lifted-off the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin.

Nasa said that the spacecraft has already deployed its solar arrays, which are powering it.

Designed for a seven-year mission period, OSIRIS-Rex will study and return with a sample of the asteroid Bennu to Earth.

Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden said: “We’re very excited about what this mission can tell us about the origin of our solar system, and we celebrate the bigger picture of science that is helping us make discoveries and accomplish milestones that might have been science fiction yesterday, but are science facts today.”

Bennu is understood to be left from the formation of the solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago, and the agency said the asteroid is expected to hold organic molecules.

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"We celebrate the bigger picture of science that is helping us make discoveries and accomplish milestones that might have been science fiction yesterday."

By studying uncontaminated asteroid sample from a known source, scientists intend to understand the condition of early Earth and other planetary bodies.

In 2018, OSIRIS-REx will move towards Bennu, which is the size of a small mountain, and will start mapping and studying the asteroid in order to collect samples.

In July 2020, the spacecraft will manoeuvre its 11ft arm to reach out and will try to collect at least 60g of small rocks and dust from the surface of Bennu. 

Nasa’s Goddard centre is providing overall mission management, systems engineering and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. 

Image: Nasa’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photo: courtesy of Lockheed Martin Corporation.