Scientists estimate the rock – named 2004 BO41 after the year it was discovered – will make what NASA calls a “near Earth pass” this afternoon.
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The OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) mission worth $800 million has been scheduled to be launched on Thursday at 7:05pm EDT. Deep Space Industries’ Prospector-1 mission could launch as soon as 2019, while NASA plans to send a robotic spacecraft to an asteroid in the 2020s to retrieve a boulder and drag it into orbit around the Moon.
Asteroid hunter OSIRIS-REx is scheduled for liftoff on Thursday, Sept. 8.
According to ancient mythology, Bennu was the manifestation of the god Osiris on Earth, taking the form of a heron-a slender bird. “Finding new material that we’ve never seen before gives us strong constraints on models of solar system origin, and that’s what we want!” If so, Bennu is a time capsule that could help explain how life sprouted on Earth and, possibly, elsewhere in the neighborhood. A sample of the asteroid should therefore provide a time-capsule-like glimpse of the planets’ youth, the researchers said.
Mainly composed of carbon and possibly silicates which were altered by the presence of water, Bennu has some very similar materials to those at the beginning of the solar system’s formation, as it was not affected by significant heating, as it’s orbit is far from the Sun. “For that [search], it’s all about the sample”.
The team has three chances to collect at least two ounces, or 60 grams, of material. That particular mission didn’t exactly go as planned, though, and Hayabusa only returned with a tiny amount of Itokawa. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is providing overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance for the spacecraft.
Bennu wouldn’t obliterate Earth or wipe out life, just carve out a huge crater.
Earth has been hit by asteroids.
Despite their devastating immediate effects, the energetic impacts could have deposited material on the hot young planet that allowed life to evolve. Lauretta said the odds of a direct hit by Bennu are low – less than one-tenth of 1 percent – and not until about 150 years from now.
A 115-minute launch window opens at 7:05 p.m. The sample will likely improve scientists’ understanding of the solar system.
“It’s the gift that keeps on giving”, Richey said.
What OSIRIS-REx will do?
Scientists will be able to create a detailed map of Bennu and characterize its surface composition and temperatures, before choosing a safe but scientifically interesting spot to collect a sample. “So once we have that, we’re not going to try to touch that again”.
Bennu is one of many near-Earth asteroids that occasionally cross paths with our planet.
OSIRIS-REx will also study how the sun’s light can shift the orbit of an asteroid. “When that happens, it acts like a thruster and changes the trajectory of the asteroid”, Lauretta said.
NASA says Bennu is very interesting as it is highly potentially risky. Bennu’s circular orbit around the sun takes about two years to complete.
“We’re going out into the unknown”. “Bennu is an unexplored world”. The container will end up at Johnson Space Center in Houston, its final destination.
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“The goal was to be prepared with a “best model” ahead of time so we do not need to spend time deciding when we get data from Bennu”, said Crandall.
