OSIRIS-REx Bennu Impact Probability – Media Telecon
NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Aug. 11, to discuss an important finding from NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft.
OSIRIS-REx spent over two years near the asteroid Bennu, which is a third of a mile (500 meters) wide. During that time, the spacecraft gathered information about Bennu’s size, shape, mass, and composition while monitoring its spin and orbital trajectory. Before leaving the near-Earth object May 10, 2021, the spacecraft scooped up a sample of rock and dust from the asteroid’s surface. OSIRIS-REx will return the sample to Earth Sept. 24, 2023, for further scientific study.
The teleconference will stream live online at: http://www.nasa.gov/live
Participants in the briefing will be:
• Dante Lauretta, study co-author and OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona in Tucson
• Davide Farnocchia, study lead author and scientist with the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California
• Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland
• Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer at NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington
For more information about the OSIRIS-REx mission to Bennu, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex
2. Farnocchia - Bennu Keyhole Explainer Animation
In 2135, asteroid Bennu will make a close flyby of Earth. Our planet’s gravity will tweak Bennu’s path, making it a challenge to calculate its future trajectory. During the flyby, Bennu has an extremely small chance of passing through a “gravitational keyhole” that would set it on a path to impact Earth late in the 22nd century.
Credit: NASA/Goddard
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Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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Animators
- Chris Smith (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Jonathan North (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Josh Masters (Freelance)
- Michael Lentz (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Walt Feimer (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Visualizer
- Kel Elkins (USRA)
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Scientists
- Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona)
- Davide Farnocchia (JPL)
- Jason Dworkin (NASA/GSFC)
- Lindley Johnson (NASA HQ)
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Producers
- Dan Gallagher (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- James Tralie (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
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Technical support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
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Public affairs officer
- Rani Gran (NASA/GSFC)