Bennu's basic mineralogy and chemical nature would have been established during the first 10 million years of the Solar System's formation, where the carbonaceous material underwent some geologic heating and chemical transformation inside a much larger planetoid or a proto-planet capable of producing the requisite pressure, heat and hydration ...

Oct 16, 2020 · Bennu is a primordial artifact preserved in the vacuum of space, orbiting among planets and moons and asteroids and comets. Because it is so old, Bennu could be made of material containing molecules that were present when life first formed on Earth.

Jan 29, 2025 · In this video frame, Jason Dworkin holds up a vial that contains part of the sample from asteroid Bennu delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer) mission in 2023. Dworkin is the mission’s project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

1 day ago · Near-Earth asteroid Bennu has a slim chance of colliding with Earth in 2182. If it does, the impact could trigger a global winter that affects our planet for years.

3 days ago · Bennu is a relatively small asteroid that passes close to Earth about every six years. Bennu was the target of NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission, OSIRIS-REx. The spacecraft delivered a sample of Bennu to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023.

Dec 20, 2024 · Bennu is a small, near-Earth asteroid that passes relatively close to Earth about every six years. It was the target of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to collect an asteroid sample and bring it to Earth.

Nov 21, 2024 · Bennu was the target of NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission – OSIRIS-REx. The spacecraft successfully delivered the sample to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023.

Oct 11, 2023 · Initial studies of the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu sample collected in space and brought to Earth by NASA show evidence of high-carbon content and water, which together could indicate the building blocks of life on Earth may be found in the rock.

Jan 29, 2025 · Bennu’s parent asteroid likely broke apart 1 to 2 billion years ago, and some of the fragments came together to form the rubble pile we know as Bennu. These minerals are also found on icy bodies in the outer solar system.

Jan 29, 2025 · Bennu contains minerals and thousands of organic molecules, including the chemical components that make up DNA.