(CNN) In the dark and lonely place that is space, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has managed to reach a new level of proximity as it studies an asteroid.

After a maneuver, the spacecraft in NASA's asteroid study mission is orbiting closer to a planetary body than any spacecraft has ever come, the space agency said

The mission recently entered a new phase where the spacecraft will orbit about 2,231 feet, or 0.4 miles, above the asteroid Bennu's surface.

During this phase, known as Orbital B, the spacecraft will snap images of the asteroid's horizon and map the object to determine where the best sample collection site on Bennu's surface is, NASA said in a statement it released Thursday.

It will remain this close to the asteroid until the second week of August.

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