Potentially Earth-threatening Asteroid Approaches Our Planet, Aiming to Make an Impact

Did you know that there’s a 1 in 2,700 chance of an asteroid colliding with Earth in the next 160 years? That’s not exactly comforting. However, NASA is hoping that their seven-year mission to retrieve samples from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu will provide valuable insights and lower this risk to a more manageable level. Bennu, roughly the size of the Empire State Building, has a carbon-rich, diamond-shaped structure and has been observed making close flybys of Earth every six years. The mission’s conclusion is fast approaching, and NASA believes that the explosive energy of 22 atomic bombs could be unleashed if Bennu were to collide with our planet. You can learn more about this fascinating mission on Earth.com.

In 2016, NASA sent the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft to investigate Bennu. The mission has been highly successful, providing important information about Bennu’s geology and rotation. The spacecraft even collected samples from Bennu’s surface, although there was so much material that the sample container had difficulty closing properly and some may have escaped into space. On Sunday, the remaining 250 grams of samples, the largest ever taken from space, will land in Utah’s Great Salt Lake Desert in a livestreamed event. As of Tuesday, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is approximately 1.8 million miles away from Earth and traveling at an incredible speed of 14,000mph. The descent of the sample capsule will be slowed by parachutes, as explained on Space.com.

Rich Burns, the project manager of OSIRIS-REx, compares this final phase of the mission to the last few miles of a marathon, where a mix of emotions such as pride, joy, and determination converge. These samples are not only crucial for understanding potential asteroid threats but also for unraveling the mysteries of our solar system’s formation and the origins of life on Earth. Nicola Fox, an associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, believes that the pristine material from Bennu could provide valuable insights into the formation of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago, and even shed light on how life on Earth began. To learn more about Bennu and its significance, visit NASA. (Read more asteroid stories.)