Nasa probe closes in on asteroid that could collide with Earth
Deep-space explorer Osiris-Rex reaches Bennu — which could contain life-giving organic molecules and water — but could also kill us
Orlando — The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (Nasa’s) deep-space explorer Osiris-Rex flew on Monday to within 19km of its destination, a skyscraper-sized asteroid believed to hold organic compounds fundamental to life as well as the potential to collide with Earth in about 150 years. Launched in September 2016, Osiris-Rex embarked on Nasa’s unprecedented seven-year mission to conduct a close-up survey of the asteroid Bennu, collect a sample from its surface and return that material to Earth for study. Bennu, a rocky mass roughly a half a kilometre wide and shaped like a giant acorn, orbits the sun at roughly the same distance as Earth and is thought to be rich in carbon-based organic molecules dating back to the earliest days of the solar system. Water, another vital component to the evolution of life, may also be trapped in the asteroid’s minerals. Scientists believe that asteroids and comets crashing into early Earth delivered organic compounds and water that seed...
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