Current:Home > NewsSamples of asteroid Bennu are coming to Earth Sunday. Could the whole thing be next? -Infinite Edge Learning
Samples of asteroid Bennu are coming to Earth Sunday. Could the whole thing be next?
SafeX Pro Exchange View
Date:2025-04-06 22:43:07
A space rock is making big news this weekend. And it could make even bigger news next century.
Potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid Bennu, the subject of NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission that's set to return to to Earth Sunday morning, could strike our planet a little more than 150 years from now, NASA scientists predicted in a recent study.
Fortunately, it's a small chance.
What's the OSIRUS-REx mission? What's happening Sunday?
OSIRUS-REx − an unmanned, solar-powered spacecraft about the size of a household toolshed − traveled 4.4 billion miles over the past seven years to bring back samples from Bennu.
On September 8, 2016, NASA launched the spacecraft into space to collect samples from the asteroid to tell us more about its composition as well as the creation of the solar system.
The OSIRIS-REx − an acronym for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer − is the United States' first attempt to retrieve and analyze samples from an asteroid.
The $800 million mission is expected to conclude when an estimated half-pound of rocks from the asteroid will drop by parachute into the Utah Test and Training Range, 80 miles west of Salt Lake City, Sunday morning.
NASA will livestream the landing and the samples collected will be sent to a laboratory in Houston for examination.
How Bennu could hit the Earth
Bennu, categorized as a Near-Earth Object (NEO), could pass through a "gravitational keyhole" in the year 2182, causing it to collide with Earth, said NASA. However, there is a 1 in 2,700, or 0.037%, chance of Bennu actually striking our planet that year.
The asteroid passes by Earth every six years and has had three close encounters with Earth in 1999, 2005, and 2011, experts said in a new paper. Bennu is also expected to pass closer to Earth than the moon in 2135 and if it does, our planet's gravitational pull could put it on the path to striking Earth on September 24, 2182.
Watch:NASA's OSIRIS-REx returns to Earth from the asteroid Bennu
What is Bennu?
First discovered in 1999, Bennu is believed to be part of a larger asteroid that collided with another space rock. It’s about one-third of a mile wide and is roughly the height of the Empire State Building, according to NASA.
Its black surface is packed with boulders, and it orbits the sun every 14 months.
Bennu is rich in carbon and is believed to be a leftover fragment from the formation of the solar system, a time capsule of sorts that may help illuminate the origin of life.
The asteroid was named after an Egyptian deity in 2013 by a nine-year-old boy from North Carolina. Bennu is the ancient Egyptian deity linked with the Sun, creation and rebirth.
Watch:How NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will bring Bennu asteroid sample back to Earth
No solar eclipse glasses?For 'ring of fire' in October, try a cracker or slotted spoon
Contributing: George Petras, Ramon Padilla, Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.
veryGood! (113)
Related
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- EPA awards $4.3 billion to fund projects in 30 states to reduce climate pollution
- 'A brave act': Americans react to President Biden's historic decision
- Dozens of Maine waterfront businesses get money to rebuild from devastating winter storms
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- Diver Tom Daley Shares Look at Cardboard Beds in 2024 Paris Olympic Village
- Andre Seldon Jr., Utah State football player and former Belleville High School star, dies in apparent drowning
- Proof Real Housewives of New Jersey's Season 14 Finale Will Change Everything
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- At least 11 dead, dozens missing after a highway bridge in China collapses after heavy storms
Ranking
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- Utah wildfire prompts mandatory evacuations
- 2024 Olympics: You’ll Flip Over Gymnasts Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles’ BFF Moments
- Halloween in July is happening. But Spirit Halloween holds out for August. Here's when stores open
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- We Tried the 2024 Olympics Anti-Sex Bed—& the Results May Shock You
- FACT FOCUS: A look at false claims around Kamala Harris and her campaign for the White House
- Fossil Fuel Development and Invasive Trees Drive Pronghorn Population Decline in Wyoming
Recommendation
Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
Defamation suit against Fox News by head of dismantled disinformation board tossed by federal judge
Did a Florida man hire a look-alike to kill his wife?
Utah death row inmate who is imprisoned for 1998 murder asks parole board for mercy ahead of hearing
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
Abdul ‘Duke’ Fakir, last of the original Four Tops, is dead at 88
Simone Biles’ pursuit of balance: How it made her a better person, gymnast
'Painful' wake-up call: What's next for CrowdStrike, Microsoft after update causes outage?