On this week's episode, we review the OSIRIS-REx mission and Asteroid Bennu as the sample return is underway on September 24, 2023. This unique robotic space mission will give us data about our early Solar System and what ingredients were around an estimated to be 4.5 billions years ago. This pristine sample is not only a look at the Sol System's genesis, but Bennu is an asteroid with a potentially hazardous orbit with Earth in the next century. 

We discuss:

• WHAT is the OSIRIS-REx Mission?
• WHAT is Asteroid Bennu?
• HOW did OSIRIS-REx gather the sample from Bennu's surface?
• HOW will OSIRIS-REx return the sample to Earth?
• WHY is OSIRIS-REx important?
• WHY is Asteroid Bennu important?
• HOW can we prevent Asteroid Bennu from impacting us in the late 2100s?

Best of luck to the recovery teams! Hopefully the Bennu sample returned intact and uncontaminated. 

Let us know what YOU think in the comments or email us at [email protected]!

SOURCES:

Top 10 things about Asteroid Bennu - NASA

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/bennu-top-ten

Launch of OSIRIS-REx (September 8, 2016)

https://youtu.be/eILL1cRnG1o?si=pa3voxNUTaOHlvEN

OSIRIS-REx Resources/Media

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20257

OSIRIS-REx & Asteroid Bennu orbits

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4921/

DART mission (example of Asteroid Deflection)

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/dart/in-depth/

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/dart/resources

OSIRIS-REX 3D Model

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/2360/osiris-rex-3d-model/

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Spread Love, Spread Science Alex G. Orphanos

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