(CNN) A spaceship sucessfully zipped by Earth on Friday and used our planet's gravity to help it pick up speed on its way to explore an asteroid.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx flew about 11,000 miles (17,000 kilometers) above Antarctica at 12:52 p.m. ET.
The maneuver, called an Earth gravity assist, pointed the spacecraft in the right direction to match Asteroid Bennu's path and speed, NASA said in a statement.
As a result of the flyby, NASA said the velocity change to the spacecraft was 8,451 miles per hour (3.778 kilometers per second).
"The Earth gravity assist is a clever way to move the spacecraft onto Bennu's orbital plane using Earth's own gravity instead of expending fuel," the mission's principal investigator, Dante Lauretta, said earlier in a statement.
While OSIRIS-REx was making its flyby, mission scientists at the University of Arizona tested its instruments and used the spacecraft's camera to take pictures of the Earth and moon.
OSIRIS-REx will take a sample of asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth
On October 21, NASA released images captured by cameras on the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft showing its successful and historic touchdown on the asteroid Bennu.
This image shows the moment the spacecraft briefly used its robotic arm to touch the surface of Bennu, crushing porous rocks in the process.
The spacecraft fired a pressurized nitrogen bottle, using the gas to lift the disturbed material and pebbles so it could collect them as a sample.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx touched down on asteroid Bennu on October 20. This illustration shows the spacecraft approaching the asteroid.
This mosaic image of Bennu is composed of 12 images collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles (24 kilometers).
This drawing shows an artist's concept of what it will look like when the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touches asteroid Bennu with its robot arm to grab a sample of the asteroid.
This image shows asteroid Bennu ejecting rock particles from its surface on Jan. 19, 2019. It was created by combining two images taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
This view of sample site Nightingale on asteroid Bennu is a mosaic of images collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
OSIRIS-REx pulled within 12 miles of the diamond-shaped space rock when it arrived at the asteroid on December 3, 2018.
An artist's concept of what the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft looks like as it orbits asteroid Bennu.
Pictured are the four candidate sample collection sites on asteroid Bennu selected by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. Site Nightingale (top left) is located in Bennu's northern hemisphere. Sites Kingfisher (top right) and Osprey (bottom left) are located in Bennu's equatorial region. Site Sandpiper (bottom right) is located in Bennu's southern hemisphere. Nightingale was ultimately chosen, and the others serve as backup sites.
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Denver. It is 20.25 feet in length (6.2 meters) with its solar arrays deployed. Its width is 8 feet (2.43 meters) x 8 feet (2.43 meters). Its height is 10.33 feet (3.15 meters). It's powered by two solar panels that generate between 1,226 watts and 3,000 watts of energy. It has five instruments to explore asteroid Bennu and also has a robot arm to touch the asteroid long enough to collect a sample.
These radar images of asteroid Bennu were obtained by NASA's Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone, California, on September 23, 1999. This is when they first discovered the asteroid.
It won't be the last we see of this spacecraft. It will be back in 2023 -- and it will come bearing gifts. NASA launched OSIRIS-REx from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in September 2016 to chase down Bennu, a dark asteroid that could one day threaten Earth.
The probe is scheduled to arrive at Bennu in August 2018 and will survey the asteroid for several months. Then, in July 2020, it will use its robot arm to blast the asteroid with nitrogen, causing it to kick up rocks and dust. It will try to snag a sample of the dust to bring back to Earth in 2023.
It's not too late to wave
If you missed the flyby, don't worry, we should get some pictures soon.
NASA encouraged amateur astronomers with specialized gear to photograph OSIRIS-REx as it passed by and to share their photos with the space agency.
"The opportunity to capture images of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft as it approaches Earth provides a unique challenge for observers to hone their skills during this historic flyby," Lauretta said.
And it's not too late to wave goodbye to OSIRIS-REx. The mission team is asking the public to celebrate the Earth gravity assist by joining in the "Wave to OSIRIS-REx" social media campaign.
No matter where you are on Earth, take a selfie (or a group photo) waving to OSIRIS-REx. Share your photos at hashtag #HelloOSIRISREx.
On Tuesday, the OSIRIS-REx team will let us know how everything worked out with the flyby. They'll discuss the results and release images taken by the spacecraft's cameras.