Asteroid Bennu – Astronomy Now

NASA gearing up for OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample recovery

27 March 2023 Astronomy Now

Procedures are being refined to ensure the safe recovery of samples from asteroid Bennu when they are returned to Earth by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on 24 September.

OSIRIS-REx captures treasure trove of samples from asteroid Bennu

25 October 2020 Astronomy Now

OSIRIS-REx was so successful capturing samples from the surface of asteroid Bennu that engineers moved up plans to stow the material for return to Earth.

OSIRIS-REx stirs up a rocky blizzard tagging an asteroid in search of samples

23 October 2020 Astronomy Now

OSIRIS-REx kicked up a storm of rocky debris during its dramatic 20 October attempt to snag samples from the asteroid Bennu. Frames from a stop-action movie provide a bird’s eye view.

Shotgun-like meteoroid impacts and thermal stress trigger asteroid ejections

9 September 2020 Astronomy Now

Small rocks seen spewing into space from the asteroid Bennu likely were ejected due to thermal stress and shotgun-like meteoroid impacts.

OSIRIS-REx sample collection site selected on asteroid Bennu

16 December 2019 Astronomy Now

Mission planners with NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft have selected a challenging but scientifically rich sample collection site on the asteroid Bennu.

OSIRIS-REx candidate sample collection sites identified

13 August 2019 Astronomy Now

Researchers with NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission have selected four possible sample collection sites on the asteroid Bennu. The team plans to narrow that down to two in December.

OSIRIS-REx is looking for a few good citizen scientists

23 May 2019 Astronomy Now

OSIRIS-REx scientists are asking citizen scientists to help map and count rocks on asteroid Bennu to aid in picking a sample selection site.

OSIRIS-REx images show asteroid Bennu’s rubble pile appearance

13 May 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is busy mapping the asteroid Bennu, revealing a remarkably fractured surface littered with countless rocks of varying sizes giving it the appearance of a jumbled rubble pile in space.

Asteroid Bennu surprises with rocky surface and activity

20 March 2019 Astronomy Now

The OSIRIS-REx sample-return spacecraft is finding one surprise after another orbiting asteroid Bennu, including unexpected “ejection events.”

OSIRIS-REx slips into record-close orbit around asteroid

2 January 2019 Astronomy Now

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft slipped into a record-close orbit of the asteroid Bennu on New Year’s Eve, setting the stage for exceedingly close-range observations.