NASA ’s OSIRIS - king delegacy to canvass asteroid Bennu was a resounding success . It orb the asteroid , landed andcollected samplesto institutionalize home , and studied the space rock like never before . This military mission matters because it helps us understand both the distant yesteryear of the Solar System but also the future of our planet , because one day Bennu could hit Earth .
OSIRIS - REx spent two years studying Bennu , one of the two most potentially risky know asteroids in the Solar System . These close - up watching have ameliorate our understanding of the asteroid ’s future orbit , which has in turn shrunk the uncertainty of the chance of a collision over the next few centuries , NASA revealed in a subject area published yesterday in the journalIcarus .
In 2135 , Bennus will make a close approach to Earth . The chance that the asteroid will hit us is passing low but it ’s important to continue monitoring it because airless passages by our planet can interchange its orbit over metre .
Before OSIRIS - male monarch , estimate had the chance of a Bennu wallop sometime between 2175 and 2199 as 1 in 2,700 . Thanks to the new data point , the chance of an impact between now and the year 2300 is refined to about 1 in 1,750 . The most probable particular date for an encroachment is September 24 , 2182 , and the impact probability for that specific 24-hour interval is 1 in 2,700 . While that is a slightly higher danger than past estimates , it ’s still just a tiny variety in an already low risk .
“ The OSIRIS - king data point give us so much more precise information , we can try the point of accumulation of our fashion model and calculate the succeeding flight of Bennu to a very high degree of sure thing through 2135 , ” lead writer Davide Farnocchia , of the Center for Near - Earth Object Studies ( CNEOS ) , which is wield by NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory , said in astatement . “ We ’ve never modeled an asteroid ’s flight to this preciseness before . ”
During Bennu ’s close passing to Earth in September 2135 , the asteroid wo n’t be a risk , but it will pass through certain “ gravitational keyholes ” , areas in space that will change its trajectory towards Earth should it pass through them at certain time , due to Earth ’s gravitative pull . The team was able to down that passing and in turn , improve the prediction of possible succeeding impact for century .
“ NASA ’s Planetary Defense mission is to find and monitor asteroids and comets that can add up near Earth and may posture a luck to our planet , ” said Kelly Fast , program manager for NASA ’s Near - Earth Object Observations Program .
“ We carry out this endeavour through go forward astronomical surveys that collect information to discover previously unsung objects and refine our orbital models for them . The OSIRIS - REx deputation has provided an extraordinary opportunity to complicate and quiz these models , help us better omen where Bennu will be when it makes its close approach to Earth more than a century from now . ”
And if Bennu does get too close there are already plans to push it off course . Boththe US and Chinahave consider ways to slowly nudge the asteroid away from Earth byhitting it with rockets .
