Asteroid Bennu’s Surprising Surface Revealed by NASA Spacecraft

Near-Earth asteroid Bennu is a rubble pile of rocks and boulders left over from the formation of the solar system. On October 20, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touched down on Bennu and collected a sample for return to Earth. During this “TAG event,” the spacecraft’s arm sank far deeper into the asteroid than expected, confirming that Bennu’s surface is incredibly weak. Now, scientists have used data from OSIRIS-REx to revisit the TAG event and better understand how Bennu’s loose upper layers are held together.

Read more: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/surprise-again-asteroid-bennu-reveals-its-surface-is-like-a-plastic-ball-pit/

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab/SVS
Dan Gallagher (KBRwyle): Producer
Jonathan North (KBRwyle): Lead Animator
Kel Elkins (USRA): Lead Data Visualizer
Alexander Bodnar (AIMM): Animator
Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (KBRwyle): Animator
Walt Feimer (KBRwyle): Animator
Lisa Poje (Freelance): Animator
Dan Gallagher (KBRwyle): Narrator
Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona): Lead Scientist
Kevin Walsh (SwRI): Scientist
Ronald Ballouz (JHUAPL): Scientist
Olivier Barnouin (JHUAPL): Scientist
Rani Gran (NASA/GSFC): Public Affairs Officer
Nancy Neal-Jones (NASA/GSFC): Public Affairs Officer
James Tralie (ADNET): Support
Ernie Wright (USRA): Support
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET): Technical Support

Universal Production Music: “Difficult Conversation” and “Into Motion” by Peter Larsen; “Big Data” by Dominique Dalcan; “Subsurface” by Ben Niblett and Jon Cotton; “Crypto Current” by Dominique Dalcan; “Spaceman” by Rainman

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