[h=1]Third Most Dangerous Earth Impactor Asteroid Bennu To Be Visited By NASA Spacecraft[/h] by Editor on July 26, 2014
NASA is close to deploying a spacecraft as part of its OSIRIS-REx mission to visit the asteroid Bennu, a potential Earth impactor that is listed in the Sentry Risk Table and has the distinction having the third highest danger rating on the well-known Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale. This isn’t the first asteroid we have visited, but is the first that has the potential to collide with earth, though not for over 150 years.
Astronomers predict Bennu will make a series of passes close to earth, with about a 1 in 1800 chance of impact. The asteroid is about one third of a mile across. While not enough to cause the end of the world as we know it, it is large enough to cause significant devastation to a large geographic area.
The mission is planned for launch in 2016 and will approach the asteroid in 2020. It will then commence several months of extensive 3D surface mapping using a Canadian Laser Altimeter. Using these 3D maps, scientists will select a safe site from which a robotic arm will extract a sample from the asteroid. A capsule containing the sample will land at Utah’s Test and Training Range in 2023.
The name of the mission is OSIRIS-REx, an acronym which stands for Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer. A team of scientists from Canada is also particularly interested in studying the geology of asteroids, including how they form and evolve, and why they are shaped as they are. Bennu in particular has a unique geography. The budget for the project is in the neighborhood of $800 million, not including the cost of the rocket.
The asteroid is described as a pristine asteroid comprised primarily of carbon and containing the material from which the Solar System was created. The sample OSIRIS-REx sends back will offer a never before seen opportunity to investigate the birth of the solar system.
NASA also hopes to use information gained from the mission to measure the effects of non-gravitational forces on the orbit of an asteroid. Such forces as sunlight hitting the surface can cause slight changes and add up over decades to unpredictably influence the asteroid’s orbit. Scientists hope that gaining a greater understanding of these influences will help to determine whether we will be at risk of impact and plan maneuvers that can deflect the asteroid. Such information can also offer greater information on asteroids that present greater danger in the shorter term.
Third Most Dangerous Earth Impactor Asteroid Bennu To Be Visited By NASA Spacecraft | Neomatica
Bennu the asteroid was named for Bennu, the Egyptian god of creation and rebirth, while Osiris is named for the Egyptian god of death and the afterlife. The suffix -REx is the Latin word for king (not Greek as some may think), an addition that purists may find annoying.
(Photo Credits: NASA)
NASA is close to deploying a spacecraft as part of its OSIRIS-REx mission to visit the asteroid Bennu, a potential Earth impactor that is listed in the Sentry Risk Table and has the distinction having the third highest danger rating on the well-known Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale. This isn’t the first asteroid we have visited, but is the first that has the potential to collide with earth, though not for over 150 years.
Astronomers predict Bennu will make a series of passes close to earth, with about a 1 in 1800 chance of impact. The asteroid is about one third of a mile across. While not enough to cause the end of the world as we know it, it is large enough to cause significant devastation to a large geographic area.
The mission is planned for launch in 2016 and will approach the asteroid in 2020. It will then commence several months of extensive 3D surface mapping using a Canadian Laser Altimeter. Using these 3D maps, scientists will select a safe site from which a robotic arm will extract a sample from the asteroid. A capsule containing the sample will land at Utah’s Test and Training Range in 2023.
The name of the mission is OSIRIS-REx, an acronym which stands for Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security Regolith Explorer. A team of scientists from Canada is also particularly interested in studying the geology of asteroids, including how they form and evolve, and why they are shaped as they are. Bennu in particular has a unique geography. The budget for the project is in the neighborhood of $800 million, not including the cost of the rocket.
The asteroid is described as a pristine asteroid comprised primarily of carbon and containing the material from which the Solar System was created. The sample OSIRIS-REx sends back will offer a never before seen opportunity to investigate the birth of the solar system.
NASA also hopes to use information gained from the mission to measure the effects of non-gravitational forces on the orbit of an asteroid. Such forces as sunlight hitting the surface can cause slight changes and add up over decades to unpredictably influence the asteroid’s orbit. Scientists hope that gaining a greater understanding of these influences will help to determine whether we will be at risk of impact and plan maneuvers that can deflect the asteroid. Such information can also offer greater information on asteroids that present greater danger in the shorter term.
Third Most Dangerous Earth Impactor Asteroid Bennu To Be Visited By NASA Spacecraft | Neomatica
Bennu the asteroid was named for Bennu, the Egyptian god of creation and rebirth, while Osiris is named for the Egyptian god of death and the afterlife. The suffix -REx is the Latin word for king (not Greek as some may think), an addition that purists may find annoying.
(Photo Credits: NASA)
