asteroid bennu

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has delivered an extraordinary revelation with its sample collection from asteroid Bennu, unveiling a treasure trove of clues about the origins of life. Initial studies of the 4.5-billion-year-old sample have uncovered the presence of carbon and water, suggesting that the fundamental components for life on Earth may also exist within this extraterrestrial rock.Ingredients of life discovered in asteroid Bennu samplesThe OSIRIS-REx mission surpassed expectations by not only meeting but exceeding…

NASA finally has counted up all the asteroid samples returned by a spacecraft last fall — and it's double the rubble return goal. Officials reported Thursday that the Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected 121.6 grams (4.29 ounces) of dust and pebbles from asteroid Bennu. That's just over half a cup and the biggest cosmic haul ever from beyond the moon.It took NASA longer than expected to pry open the sample container because of stuck fasteners. The black, carbon-rich samples — the first ever collected from an asteroid by NASA…

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2023 has been a ground-breaking year for NASA. From receiving asteroid sample to launching Psyche spacecraft, the US space agency achieved various milestones. As the year ends, we have compiled a list of 10 achievements of NASA.10 top achievements of NASA in 2023:1. This year NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio achieved a historic milestone as the first American to spend over a year in space, showcasing NASA's commitment to prolonged human space exploration. 2. OSIRIS-REx successfully deposited Bennu asteroid sample in the Utah…

The ultimate aim of space scientists is to discover the origins of life and then figure out how things may move in the future in a better, more predicatble, way. Easier said than done, but scientists across the globe are hard at work on it. In 2023, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made a groundbreaking discovery on asteroid Bennu, shedding light on the building blocks of life on Earth. This remarkable finding adds to our understanding of how Earth became a life-sustaining planet.NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission unveiled evidence…

Apocalyptic movies like Armageddon have explored the possibility of total annihilation if an asteroid strikes on Earth. Although asteroids make close approaches to Earth nearly every day, none of them impact the surface. But what if an asteroid, which can end life, actually hits Earth? The plan to save the planet wouldn't be as fancy as Bruce Willis drilling into the asteroid to nuke it. NASA has already carried out the testing of its DART Mission for planetary protection which involves crashing a spacecraft into an…

The fascination of scientists with understanding the origin of the solar system is never ending. Recently, in an attempt to uncover the secrets around it, NASA sent its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to collect samples from asteroid Bennu, which will reach Earth in the later half of this year. And now, out of the same curiosity, astronomers have turned to Neptune to understand this grand mystery. Not exactly Neptune, but the area surrounding it, which is filled with mysterious red asteroids. A new study claims that it could…

More than six years have passed since the NASA OSIRIS-REx spacecraft embarked on its unique mission. Unlike most NASA expeditions, the spacecraft's destination was not a planet or a moon, but a 450-meter wide asteroid named 101955 Bennu. The mission's objective was to collect a minimum of 60 grams of sample material from the asteroid and return it to Earth. Right now, it is on the way home with almost 250 grams of primitive rocks stored in its locker. And to add to the excitement, NASA has announced the return date for…

Space is vast and terrifying, but at the same time, it is deeply intriguing and mysterious. Our fascination with space and understanding the origin of the solar system has led scientists to one of its biggest celestial nemeses. Nothing exemplifies this relationship of humans with space better than the NASA OSIRIS-REx mission. This space mission sent an unmanned spacecraft to the potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu to collect rock samples and it is now on its way to Earth. Interestingly, there is a big chance that this…

A study claims that in future, humans could live on asteroids by building megacities on these rocks and go ambling around in space. NASA commissioned designs for such megacities. Asteroids have always terrified humans. After all, they were the reason behind one of the biggest known mass extinctions on the planet. And scientists realize that what happened to the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period could one day also happen to humans. That is why NASA recently conducted its Double Asteroid Redirection Test…