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NASA plans to launch study of asteroid that could destroy Earth

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Teri Charboneau
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« on: August 08, 2016, 12:58:33 am »

NASA plans to launch study of asteroid that could destroy Earth
August 1, 20161:32pm

NASA is planning to launch a probe to study an asteroid that could one day pulverize the Earth. Picture: Supplied
Eileen AJ ConnellyNew York Post


NASA is planning to launch a probe to study an “Armageddon” asteroid that could one day pulverise the Earth.

The asteroid, named Bennu, crosses Earth’s orbit once every six years and has gotten ever closer since it was discovered in 1999, reports the New York Post.

In 2135, Bennu will fly between the moon and Earth — a hair’s breadth in space terms, the Sunday Times of London reported.
OSIRIS-REx Tech

That’s so close that gravity from the Earth could effect Bennu’s orbit, “potentially putting it on course for the Earth later that century,” said Dante Lauretta, a professor of planetary science at Arizona University.

Bennu is about 487 metres in diameter and travels around the sun at an average of 101,000 km per hour.
Earth and asteroid colliding. Picture: NASA.

Earth and asteroid colliding. Picture: NASA.Source:Supplied

The chance of an impact is small but significant, and if it happens, would be equivalent to triggering three billion tonnes of high explosive, 200 times the strength of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

“Bennu falls on the boundary, in terms of size, for an object capable of causing a global catastrophe,” Professor Mark Bailey of Northern Ireland’s Armagh Observatory told the Sunday Times.

NASA will launch the Osiris-Rex probe mission to Bennu in September.

    The @OSIRISREx rocket fairing has arrived @NASAKennedy - one step closer to launch #ToBennuAndBack ! pic.twitter.com/M2pNhK9XZt
    — Dante Lauretta (@DSLauretta) July 27, 2016

The probe’s journey will involve a year of orbiting the sun to build up speed before it slingshots back around Earth, using the planet’s gravity to align its orbit with the asteroid’s, the Sunday Times reports. They will rendezvous in August 2018.

Osiris-Rex will then spend a year mapping the asteroid and then hover above its surface to pick up some rubble, before flying back to Earth.

For scientists, the chance of obtaining chunks of a carbonaceous asteroid is exciting. “Bennu is a carbonaceous asteroid, an ancient relic from the early solar system that is filled with organic molecules,” Lauretta said. “Asteroids like Bennu may have seeded the early Earth with this material, contributing to the primordial soup from which life emerged.”

    39 Days to Launch – What’s Left to Get Done? https://t.co/vrpaaXGQIh
    — Dante Lauretta (@DSLauretta) July 31, 2016

For the rest of the world, Osiris-Rex’s most important task may be the measurements it makes of a newly discovered force called the Yarkovsky effect, that can send asteroids careening around the solar system and potentially toward Earth.

This force makes Bennu’s trajectory hard to predict, but scientists know its position has shifted 160km since 1999.

“We need to know everything about Bennu — its size, mass and composition,” said Lauretta. “This could be vital data for future generations.”
Bennu will fly between the moon and Earth. Picture: NASA.

Bennu will fly between the moon and Earth. Picture: NASA.Source:Supplied

This story first appeared in the New York Post.
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Teri Charboneau
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« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2016, 12:59:34 am »



Earth and asteroid colliding. Picture: NASA.Source:Supplied
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Teri Charboneau
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« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2016, 01:00:35 am »



Bennu could one day collide with the Earth. Image Credit: NASA Goddard Conceptual Image Lab
A huge space rock almost half a mile wide has the potential to hit our planet within the next 200 years.
The asteroid, which is known as 'Bennu', crosses Earth's orbit once every six years and has been getting progressively closer to us each time it passes by.

Discovered in 1999, this huge object will get so close to us by 2135 that it will pass between the Earth and the moon. When this happens, the Earth's gravity may alter Bennu's orbit and place it on a collision course with our planet later on that century.

If the asteroid does end up hitting us, the impact will be equivalent to setting off three billion tons of high explosives - enough to cause significant and widespread destruction across the globe.

Fortunately NASA has a plan up its sleeve - a probe known as Osiris-Rex which will launch in September. It will spend a year orbiting the sun before using the Earth's gravity to position itself around Bennu where it will conduct an in-depth analysis of its surface and composition.

The probe will also be investigating what is known as the Yarkovsky effect - the phenomenon thought to be responsible for sending asteroids on a collision course with the Earth.

"We need to know everything about Bennu - its size, mass and composition," said planetary scientist Professor Dante Lauretta. "This could be vital data for future generations."
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Teri Charboneau
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« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2016, 01:01:35 am »

Attempting to destroy this particular asteroid probably will not be necessary. Apparently there is a very, very slim chance of it colliding with Earth. Even if it impacted - it would not pose an existential threat. http://www.space.com/33616-asteroid-bennu-will-not-destroy-earth.html
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