Planets and Moons  ID: 14179

Asteroid Bennu’s Surprising Surface Revealed by OSIRIS-REx

On October 20, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected a sample of near-Earth asteroid Bennu. This “TAG event” revealed surprising details about Bennu’s loosely-packed surface. The spacecraft’s arm sank almost half a meter into the asteroid, far deeper than expected, confirming that Bennu’s surface is incredibly weak. During the event, OSIRIS-REx collected a handful of material and kicked up roughly six tons of loose rock. It will return its sample of Bennu to Earth in September 2023.

Learn more about the surface properties of asteroid Bennu.

 

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NASA.gov

asteroidmission.org


Credits

Lead Producer:
Dan Gallagher (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)

Lead Animator:
Jonathan North (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)

Lead Data Visualizer:
Kel Elkins (USRA)

Animators:
Alexander Bodnar (AIMM)
Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
Walt Feimer (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
Lisa Poje (Freelance)

Lead Narrator:
Dan Gallagher (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)

Producer:
James Tralie (ADNET Systems, Inc.)

Narrator:
James Tralie (ADNET Systems, Inc.)

Lead Scientist:
Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona)

Scientists:
Kevin J. Walsh (Southwest Research Institute)
Ron Ballouz (The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)
Olivier Barnouin (JHUAPL)

Public Affairs Officers:
Rani Gran (NASA/GSFC)
Nancy Neal-Jones (NASA/GSFC)

Support:
Ernie Wright (USRA)

Technical Support:
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)

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