OSIRIS-REX
- SCI & TECH
News: NASA’s OSIRIS-REx: First-ever
asteroid sample to drop on Earth tomorrow
What's
in the news?
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The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) is preparing for the final phase of the OSIRIS-REx
mission as the spacecraft is set to drop a capsule containing samples from the
asteroid Bennu on Earth.
OSIRIS-REx:
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OSIRIS-REx is NASA’s first mission to visit a near-Earth asteroid, survey its surface
and collect a sample from it.
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The Origins Spectral Interpretation
Resource Identification Security - Regolith Explorer was launched by NASA in
2016 for the journey to Bennu (near-Earth asteroid).
Asteroid
Bennu:
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More than 200 million miles from Earth
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Named after an Egyptian deity.
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It is a B-type asteroid, implying that it contains significant amounts of
carbon and various other minerals.
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There is a slight possibility that Bennu,
which is classified as a Near Earth Object (NEO), might strike the Earth in the
next century, between the years 2175 and 2199.
Significance:
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Bennu offers scientists a window into the
early solar system as it was first taking shape billions of years ago and
tossing ingredients that could have helped seed life on Earth.
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Significantly, Bennu hasn’t undergone drastic
changes since its formation over billions of years ago and therefore it
contains chemicals and rocks dating back to the birth of the solar system. It
is also relatively close to the Earth.