NASA scientists have revealed the exact date when a dangerous asteroid could collide with the Earth’s surface.
A space rock called Bennu passes by our planet every six years, and according to NASA scientists, the asteroid may hit Earth on September 24, 2182. The force of the impact could reach the force of 22 atomic bombs – writes A. Pepper.
NASA is working hard to transform Bennu. As they say, you have reached the “final stage” of the mission.
Seven years ago, the agency sent a spacecraft to the asteroid to collect samples.
Scientists hope that the information obtained in this way will help prevent a potentially catastrophic collision.
Samples from Bennu will reach Earth by the end of the week and reach the Utah desert on September 24.
We are now in the final leg of this seven-year journey, much like the last few miles of a marathon, where feelings such as pride and joy coincide with the determination to finish well.
said Rich Burns, OSIRIS-REx project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
While Bennu’s potential impact may seem alarming, the odds of a devastating strike are only 1 in 2,700.
The rock is about a third of a mile wide, while the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was about six miles wide.
Bennu isn’t large enough to cause a worldwide extinction, but NASA suggests that if it collides with Earth, it will create a six-mile-wide crater and wreak havoc 600 miles in all directions.
There is a 1 in 1750 chance that Bennu will collide with Earth by 2300.
The samples currently on their way to Earth can help researchers better understand the damaged rocks, and the pieces will be launched towards Earth by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in a capsule the size of a refrigerator. The spacecraft is carrying an estimated 250 grams of rocky material collected from Bennu’s surface in 2020.
Authentic material from asteroid Bennu helps shed light on the formation of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago, and perhaps even how life began on Earth.
One NASA employee said.
