Current:Home > MySamples of asteroid Bennu are coming to Earth Sunday. Could the whole thing be next? -Blueprint Money Mastery
Samples of asteroid Bennu are coming to Earth Sunday. Could the whole thing be next?
View
Date:2025-04-12 07:05:30
A space rock is making big news this weekend. And it could make even bigger news next century.
Potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid Bennu, the subject of NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission that's set to return to to Earth Sunday morning, could strike our planet a little more than 150 years from now, NASA scientists predicted in a recent study.
Fortunately, it's a small chance.
What's the OSIRUS-REx mission? What's happening Sunday?
OSIRUS-REx − an unmanned, solar-powered spacecraft about the size of a household toolshed − traveled 4.4 billion miles over the past seven years to bring back samples from Bennu.
On September 8, 2016, NASA launched the spacecraft into space to collect samples from the asteroid to tell us more about its composition as well as the creation of the solar system.
The OSIRIS-REx − an acronym for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer − is the United States' first attempt to retrieve and analyze samples from an asteroid.
The $800 million mission is expected to conclude when an estimated half-pound of rocks from the asteroid will drop by parachute into the Utah Test and Training Range, 80 miles west of Salt Lake City, Sunday morning.
NASA will livestream the landing and the samples collected will be sent to a laboratory in Houston for examination.
How Bennu could hit the Earth
Bennu, categorized as a Near-Earth Object (NEO), could pass through a "gravitational keyhole" in the year 2182, causing it to collide with Earth, said NASA. However, there is a 1 in 2,700, or 0.037%, chance of Bennu actually striking our planet that year.
The asteroid passes by Earth every six years and has had three close encounters with Earth in 1999, 2005, and 2011, experts said in a new paper. Bennu is also expected to pass closer to Earth than the moon in 2135 and if it does, our planet's gravitational pull could put it on the path to striking Earth on September 24, 2182.
Watch:NASA's OSIRIS-REx returns to Earth from the asteroid Bennu
What is Bennu?
First discovered in 1999, Bennu is believed to be part of a larger asteroid that collided with another space rock. It’s about one-third of a mile wide and is roughly the height of the Empire State Building, according to NASA.
Its black surface is packed with boulders, and it orbits the sun every 14 months.
Bennu is rich in carbon and is believed to be a leftover fragment from the formation of the solar system, a time capsule of sorts that may help illuminate the origin of life.
The asteroid was named after an Egyptian deity in 2013 by a nine-year-old boy from North Carolina. Bennu is the ancient Egyptian deity linked with the Sun, creation and rebirth.
Watch:How NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will bring Bennu asteroid sample back to Earth
No solar eclipse glasses?For 'ring of fire' in October, try a cracker or slotted spoon
Contributing: George Petras, Ramon Padilla, Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Biden approves major disaster declaration for northeastern Vermont for late July flooding
- Wyoming Lags in Clean Energy Jobs, According to New Report
- Boeing and union negotiators set to meet for contract talks 2 weeks into worker strike
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Former NBA MVP Derrick Rose announces retirement
- US sweeps first day at Presidents Cup
- A Pennsylvania woman is convicted of killing her 2 young children in 2019
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Fed’s favored inflation gauge shows cooling price pressures, clearing way for more rate cuts
Ranking
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Macklemore clarifies remark made at pro-Palestine concert in Seattle: 'Sometimes I slip up'
- How the new 2025 GMC Yukon offers off-road luxury
- James Corden Admits He Tried Ozempic for Weight Loss and Shares His Results
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Last of Us' Bella Ramsey and Nashville's Maisy Stella Seemingly Confirm Romance
- Falling tree at a Michigan nature center fatally injures a boy who was on a field trip
- Funniest wildlife photos of the year showcased in global competition: See the finalists
Recommendation
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
Angel Reese calls out lack of action against racism WNBA players have faced
Hurricane Helene's forecast looks disastrous far beyond Florida
Depleted energy levels affect us all. But here's when they could indicate something serious.
Travis Hunter, the 2
This Social Security plan will increase taxes, and Americans want it
Craig Conover Shares Update on Paige DeSorbo After “Scary” Panic Attack
Hawaii Supreme Court agrees to weigh in on issues holding up $4B wildfire settlement