Universe  ID: 11697

Mission To Bennu

Story by Dan Gallagher | Visualizations by Walt Feimer and Michael Lentz Released on January 6, 2015
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NASA will launch the first U.S. asteroid sample return mission in 2016.
How did our solar system evolve from a whirlpool of gas, dust and fiery droplets of molten rock? In 2016, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will embark on an epic seven-year mission to answer that question. The spacecraft will travel to Bennu, a carbon-rich asteroid that measures about one-third of a mile in diameter and completes an orbit around our sun every 436.6 days. Scientists believe the asteroid formed during an ancient cosmic collision about one billion years ago and is composed of the same raw ingredients that created the planets. OSIRIS-REx will explore Bennu, collect a sample from its surface and bring it back to Earth for analysis. The findings will help scientists better understand the history of the solar system and the origin of life on our planet. Watch the video to learn more.
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Learn more about asteroid Bennu in this animated feature called “Bennu’s Journey.”
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Scientists think Bennu formed in the aftermath of a collision between a proto-planet and a space rock.
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Bennu is a primitive asteroid composed of molecules that may have been the precursors to life on Earth.
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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will rendezvous with Bennu and obtain a sample that will be returned to Earth in 2023.
 

Related Stories

Arrival at Bennu
Bennu's Journey

For More Information

NASA.gov

Story Credits

Lead Visualizers/Animators:
Walt Feimer (HTSI)
Michael Lentz (USRA)

Visualizer/Animator:
Chris Meaney (HTSI)

Video Editors:
Rich Melnick (HTSI)
Michael Lentz (USRA)

Narration:
Dan Gallagher (USRA)
Michael Starobin (HTSI)
Walt Feimer (HTSI)
Michael Lentz (USRA)

Narrator:
Jason Charles Miller

Producers:
Walt Feimer (HTSI)
Dan Gallagher (USRA)

Lead Scientists:
Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona)
Edward Beshore (The University of Arizona)

Lead Writer:
Dan Gallagher (USRA)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11697

Keywords:
SVS >> App
NASA Science >> Universe