Joe.My.God. LGBT News
ABC News reports:
An asteroid NASA’s been tracking for nearly 25 years could impact Earth in the future, a new report reveals. First discovered in 1999, Bennu, the near-Earth asteroid, could possibly drift into the planet’s orbit and could hit the planet by September 2182, according to the OSIRIS-REx science team.
Bennu passes near Earth every six years and has had three close encounters with Earth in 1999, 2005, and 2011, experts said in the ScienceDirect study. There is a 1 in 2,700, or 0.037% chance that Bennu could hit Earth by 2182, scientists said.
If Bennu would hit Earth, it would release 1,200 megatons of energy, which is 24 times the energy of the most manmade nuclear weapon, according to IFLScience.
Space.com reports:
On Sept. 24, 2023, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission will make history by returning samples of the asteroid Bennu to Earth after seven years in deep space. Launched in 2016, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft reached asteroid Bennu in October 2020 and collected samples from the near-Earth asteroid’s surface.
It will return those samples in a special capsule and parachute, with landing set for 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) at Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range near Dugway, Utah. The probe is currently about 1.8 million miles (2.8 million km) away, speeding toward Earth at roughly 14,000 mph (23,000 kph).
Bennu has significant amounts of ancient carbon and organics, which is gold for scientists eager to understand the early solar system and origin of life on Earth. Check out 10 reasons why NASA chose this asteroid for #OSIRISREx’s momentous investigation: https://t.co/h33H3UfHEc pic.twitter.com/wI8lCPGkHj
— NASA Astrobiology: Exploring Life in the Universe (@NASAAstrobio) September 12, 2023
We are counting down the days! ⏳
On Sunday, Sept. 24, the #OSIRISREx spacecraft will deliver a sample capsule containing a rocky material collected from the surface of the asteroid Bennu to Earth.
Here’s how the delivery will work >> https://t.co/tU0YJ0TX8P pic.twitter.com/Oa5Wh9nvgT
— NASA Marshall (@NASA_Marshall) September 18, 2023
ULA was honored to partner with @NASA to start the #OSIRISREx spacecraft on its 7-year journey to #Bennu to return an asteroid sample to Earth! Let’s look at some #AtlasV OSIRIS-REx fun facts as we prepare for this exciting sample return! #ToBennuandBack #ExplorationEnabled pic.twitter.com/iatw91UMGH
— ULA (@ulalaunch) September 19, 2023