#EZScience: OSIRIS-REx Touches Down On Bennu | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

NASA is preparing for a major milestone with their first asteroid sample return mission to Bennu while also investigating the possibility of life on Venus.

Key Insights

• 💋 OSIRIS-REx mission marks NASA's first asteroid sample return, providing valuable information about the solar system's history.
• 🤩 Bennu, an earth-crossing asteroid, poses a potential hazard but also holds the key to understanding life's building blocks.
• 🤽 Carbonaceous asteroids like Bennu may have played a role in delivering water to Earth.
• 🤨 Detection of phosphine on Venus raises the possibility of life existing in the planet's clouds.
• 🎟️ Future missions to Venus and other celestial bodies will further our understanding of the solar system's evolution.
• 👾 The Stephen F. Woodvar Housing Center in Chantilly, Virginia offers a wealth of exhibits on aviation and space flight history.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: What is the significance of collecting a sample from Bennu?

The sample collected from Bennu will provide valuable insights into the history of the solar system and may contain amino acids, the building blocks of life on Earth.

Q: What is the risk posed by earth-crossing asteroids like Bennu?

While there is a small chance of Bennu colliding with Earth in the next 200 years, studying its composition and trajectory will help scientists better understand and potentially mitigate this risk.

Q: How does Bennu contribute to the possibility of finding water on Earth?

Carbonaceous asteroids like Bennu have been found to contain water in their rocks. The water brought by these asteroids could have played a crucial role in the formation of Earth's oceans and atmosphere.

Q: What are the potential implications of phosphine detection on Venus?

The recent detection of phosphine in Venus' atmosphere raises questions about the possibility of life in the planet's clouds. Further exploration of Venus is needed to investigate this intriguing finding.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Nasa's first asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx, is set to collect a sample from the asteroid Bennu on October 20th.

• Bennu is an earth-crossing asteroid that poses a potential hazard to the Earth in the next 200 years.

• Bennu is a carbonaceous asteroid, which may contain amino acids and water, potentially contributing to the building blocks of life on Earth.