OSIRIS-REx

Phil Plait Bad Astronomy osirisrex_bennu_full

Electrostatic repulsion may be lofting small rocks off the asteroid Bennu

The tiny asteroid is spitting rocks into space.

By Phil Plait 2 weeks ago

Liz Asteroid GETTY

OSIRIS-REx is now going to go asteroid hopping to the space rock that once threatened Earth

Yes, that asteroid.

By Elizabeth Rayne 2 weeks ago

Moments before sample collection, the OSIRIS-REx boom and sample collector shadow stretched across the surface of the asteroid Bennu. Most of those rocks are a few centimeters across. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin

UPDATE: Incredible footage of OSIRIS-REx tagging an asteroid

By Phil Plait 1 year ago

An image of the asteroid debris cloud from Bennu surrounding the OSIRIS-REx TAGSAM collection mechanism. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

UPDATE: The Bennu asteroid sample collection was successful! Almost too successful

By Phil Plait 1 year ago

Debris from the surface of the asteroid Bennu blows away under the influence of nitrogen gas jets from the OSIRIS-REx TAGSAM device. Some of this material was collected and will be returned to Earth in 2023. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

BOOP! NASA spacecraft OSIRIS-REx pokes an asteroid and collects the debris

By Phil Plait 1 year ago

Bennu

How life spawned on Earth (and maybe elsewhere) might be just one of the secrets asteroid Bennu is hiding

By Elizabeth Rayne 1 year ago

An image from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft shows Bennu, a 500-meter wide asteroid, from a distance of 24 km on Dec. 2, 2018. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

Birds and creation on the asteroid Bennu… and why we name names

By Phil Plait 2 years ago

A very overexposed image of the asteroid Bennu by OSIRIS-REx reveals stars in the background… and a pair of worlds far in the distance. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin

OSIRIS-REx sees Earth from 100 million kilometers away

By Phil Plait 2 years ago

A topographical map of Bennu shows rocks, pits, and the odd overall shape of the tiny 500-meter-wide asteroid. Credit: NASA/University of Arizona/CSA/York/MDA

On the asteroid Bennu, how much you weigh depends on where you are

By Phil Plait 2 years ago

Bennu is a half-kilometer-wide asteroid on a near-Earth orbit. This image by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft shows it is a rubble pile, a collection of rocks held together by their own gravity. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin

Bennu: The moody face of a rubble pile asteroid… that's spitting rocks in space.

By Phil Plait 2 years ago