What is Bennu?
Bennu is an astroied discovered NASA in 1999.
Scientists believe that Bennu formed in the first 10 million years of the solar system’s formation.
Bennu is roughly 4.5 billion years old.
Bennu likely to contain material that contains molecules that were present when life first formed on Earth.
The high carbon content Bennu reflects 4% percent of the light it hits. Which very low compared to other planets. Earth reflects about 30%.
It classified as a Near Earth Object (NEO), might strike the Earth in the next century, between the years 2175 and 2199.
OSIRIS-Rex stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer.
This is NASA’s first mission meant to return a sample from the ancient asteroid.
Launched in 2016, it reached its target in 2018.
OSIRIS-REx is bringing back samples from Bennu. It will arrive home in 2023, ejecting a capsule full of samples that may help scientists decipher the origin of Earth’s water and life.
NASA has selected a site located in a crater high in Bennu’s northern hemisphere designated “Nightingale”.
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