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For those of you interested in asteroid, there is some new development on May 10, 2021, in italics (excerpt from wikipedia): NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was sent to explore Asteroid 101955 Bennu and retrieve 60 grams of sample  of Bennu’s surface. On May 10, 2021, OSIRIS-REx has completed its mission and is beginning its 2 year journey  heading back to Earth. 101955 Bennu (provisional designation 1999 RQ₃₆)^[9] is a carbonaceous asteroid in the Apollo group discovered by the LINEAR Project on 11 September 1999. It is a potentially hazardous object that is listed on the Sentry Risk Table with the second-highest cumulative rating on the Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale.^[10] It has a cumulative 1-in-2,700 chance of impacting Earth between 2175 and 2199.^[11][12] It is named after the Bennu, the ancient Egyptian mythological bird associated with the Sun, creation, and rebirth. 101955 Bennu has a mean diameter of 490 m (1,610 ft; 0.30 mi) and has been observed extensively with the Arecibo Observatory planetary radar and the Goldstone Deep Space Network.^[7][13][14] In the video published on May 10, 2021, “A Web Around Asteroid Bennu“, below: Bennu was the target of the OSIRIS-REx mission which is intended to return its samples to Earth in 2023 for further study.^[15][16][17] On 3 December 2018, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at Bennu after a two-year journey.^[18] It orbited the asteroid and mapped out Bennu’s surface in detail, seeking potential sample collection sites. Analysis of the orbits allowed calculation of Bennu’s mass and its distribution.^[19] On 18 June 2019, NASA announced that the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft had closed in and captured an image from a distance of 600 metres (2,000 ft) from Bennu’s surface.^[20] In October 2020, OSIRIS-REx successfully touched down on the surface of Bennu, collected a sample using an extendable arm,^[21] secured the sample and prepared for a return trip to Earth.^[22][23] On 10 May 2021, OSIRIS-REx successfully completed its departure from the Bennu asteroid while still carrying the sample of the asteroid rubble.^[24][25] A look back at OSIRIS-REx’s time at Asteroid Bennu starting with the Touch-and-Go (TAG) sample acquisition event from Oct. 20, 2020, and leading up to its departure from the asteroid on May 10, 2021, in the video published on May 10, 2021, “Farewell to Asteroid Bennu“, below: When NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at asteroid Bennu in December 2018, its close-up images confirmed what mission planners had predicted nearly two decades before: Bennu is made of loose material weakly clumped together by gravity, and shaped like a spinning top. This major validation, however, was accompanied by a major surprise. Scientists had expected Bennu’s surface to consist of fine-grained material like a sandy beach, but were instead greeted by a rugged world littered with boulders – the size of cars, the size of houses, the size of football fields. Now, thanks to laser altimetry data and high-resolution imagery from OSIRIS-REx, we can take a tour of Bennu’s remarkable terrain, in the video published on October 8, 2020, “Tour of Asteroid Bennu“, below: OSIRIS-REx will return its sample (of 101955 Bennu) to Earth in September, 2023. For more images of 101955 Bennu, please click HERE.

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Background Information of Asteroid Bennu’s Journey, below: Bennu’s Journey is a 6-minute animated movie about NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, Asteroid Bennu, and the formation of our solar system. Born from the rubble of a violent collision, hurled through space for millions of years, Asteroid Bennu has had a tough life in a rough neighborhood – the early solar system. Bennu’s Journey shows what is known and what remains mysterious about the evolution of Bennu and the planets. By retrieving a sample of Bennu, OSIRIS-REx will teach us more about the raw ingredients of the solar system and our own origins, in the video published on November 18, 2014, “NASA | Asteroid Bennu’s Journey“, below: In the video published on Dec. 4, 2021, “How Asteroid Bennu Was NOT What NASA Scientists Were Hoping For“, below: In the video published on October 20, 2020, “Watch NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Attempt to Capture a Sample of Asteroid Bennu“, below: With the help of the sample retrieved from Bennu, scientists will be able to search for organic compounds like amino acids, hydrated materials like clays, and other substances that would otherwise be difficult to detect. In addition to taking photos of the asteroid, OSIRIS-REx is also mapping the global property, chemistry, and mineralogy of this primitive carbonaceous asteroid to characterize its geologic and dynamic history, to provide context for the returned sample by picking the best site for the sample returned. Based on spectroscopic surveys, there are hydrated materials or clays on the surface of Bennu. This is significant because clays contain water, suggesting the possibility that liquid water was likely present on the body Bennu have originated from. Another interesting observation: Occasional ejection events were spotted where some material was flung away into space. Some of these particles were captured in orbit around the asteroid for a few orbits before returning to the surface of the asteroid, likely due to the slightly accelerated rotation of the asteroid caused by slight pushing effect of solar radiation acting on the irregularly shaped object. The speed of the rotation can already be seen due to the build-up of rocks along the equator through centrifugal forces. If the rotation continues to speed up, then the asteroid might eventually disintegrate altogether when centrifugal forces overcome the gravity of the asteroid. OSIRIS-REx will return its sample (of 101955 Bennu) to Earth in September, 2023. For more images of 101955 Bennu, please click HERE. Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com Any comments, suggestions, concerns regarding this post will be welcomed at info.WindermereSun@gmail.com

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