Why Bennu is known as the asteroid death? – La Nacion (Argentina)

In September the ship will blast off the device that will study the asteroid’s surface Bennu .. Photo: NASA

scientists know him since 1999 and fear that someday may impact with our planet. This is the asteroid Bennu, the space agency (NASA, for its acronym in English) is available to study.

Earlier NASA will launch the OSIRIS-REx, probe whose mission is to collect samples the surface of the asteroid, Dante Lauretta explained, professor of Planetary Sciences at the University of Tucson, Arizona. OSIRIS-REx will look for organic elements that could be of great value to the scientific community. Also seek answers about the overall composition and behavior of an asteroid which astronomers believe could bring “immense suffering and death” to Earth.

With a diameter of 500 meters, Bennu -bautizado with the name of an Egyptian mythological bird associated with death-will between our planet and the moon around 2135, which could alter its orbit, so that will impact with Earth at the end of XXII century. According to NASA the chances of impact are 1 in 2,500.

Despite the ability of OSIRIS-REx to perform complex tasks, it was surprisingly inexpensive and compact in design. Photo: NASA

E l process

The OSIRIS-REx probe will have to survive two years before reach the asteroid. The scientists involved in its creation, think that will not have trouble resisting space travel as it is the first device of its kind built with no moving parts, which reduces the risk of spoiling something in the mission trip. “We designed OVIRS to be robust and able to last a long time in space,” explained from NASA.

Through the analysis of the infrared spectrum can detect unique aspects of minerals and other materials which are in the asteroid. This will allow scientists to pinpoint the origin of organic materials, carbonates and silicates, and levels of water absorbed on the surface of Bennu.

the team behind this research will take into account the geological characteristics of Bennu .. Photo: NASA

A silent monster moving

Bennu travels around the sun at a speed of 101,389 kilometers per hour and can be seen every six years from Earth. One of the most important purposes of the NASA mission is to determine how the orbit of Bennu may be affected by warming or cooling of the surface by the sunlight.

The asteroid is heated by the rays the sun and raise its temperature, thermal radiation emitted in different directions while rotating. It is what is known as the effect Yarkovsky, which eventually alters its orbit.

Understanding the orbitacional process Bennu could be prevented future hazards earth .. Photo: Getty Images

that is why, according to calculations made by the scientists involved in the OSIRIS-REx mission, Bennu is a potential danger to our planet. Studying Bennu and understand the process of creating the orbits of other asteroids, could help prevent and predict future threats to Earth.

The probe OSIRIS-REx on site at Kennedy Space Center NASA, Cape Canaveral .. Photo: NASA

Other objectives

another major objective of the mission is achieved through samples collected to study the origins of our solar system. NASA probe will reach the asteroid in 2018 and return with a sample surface in 2023. Bennu Bennu is particularly interesting because it is believed to contain carbon and organic material, which will probably have answers to help understand the origin . of life

the asteroid, called Bennu, will pass between the Earth and the Moon in 2135 .. Photo: PHOTOSHOT

“always we will find challenges that know and understand when we have them in front, but after this mission can begin to plan how to prepare in advance for future risks,” said Amy Simon, technical assistant director of OVIRS.