NASA plans to launch a probe that will study an asteroid that may possibly hit and destroy Earth in the future.
The U.S. space agency is set to launch the unmanned Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft on Sept. 8 to collect rock samples from Bennu, an asteroid estimated to measure 1,614 feet.
Discovered in 1999 and named after an Egyptian mythological bird by a North Carolina third grader who won an asteroid-naming contest, the space rock is an example of a near-Earth object or NEO — Solar System bodies with orbits that bring them close to Earth.
Bennu crosses our planet's orbit every six years and it gets closer each time. More than 100 years from now in 2135, the asteroid may possibly enter a "keyhole" between the Earth and the moon, which may potentially alter the asteroid's orbit and place it on course for the Earth.
Although there is a small chance for impact, the consequences would be catastrophic if this happens.
Mark Bailey of Northern Ireland's Armagh Observatory said that the asteroid falls within the size of an object that can cause a global catastrophe. Once the asteroid hits Earth, the event would generate an equivalent of setting off 3 billion tons of high explosive, which is about 200 times the strength of the atomic bomb that was dropped in Hiroshima, Japan.
Another reason astronomers want to study the asteroid is that it may offer clues on how life began on Earth and how the Solar System evolved. Scientists believe that the asteroid is rich in carbon, a key ingredient in the organic molecules that are needed for life. Organic molecules have been found in comet and meteorite samples, which suggests that some of the key ingredients of life can be created in space.
"Bennu's experiences will tell us more about where our solar system came from and how it evolved," said Edward Beshore, who is part of the OSIRIS-REx mission. "Like the detectives in a crime show episode, we'll examine bits of evidence from Bennu to understand more completely the story of the solar system, which is ultimately the story of our origin."
The OSIRIS-REx is supposed to reach the asteroid in August 2018, where it will send a probe to collect gravel and soil from Bennu's surface. The OSIRIS-REx will be the first U.S mission that will carry samples from an asteroid back to planet Earth.
