NASA launches probe to investigate huge asteroid it fears could one day hit Earth
The space ageny plans to collect samples from the giant space rock to find out the risk it poses
NASA is to launch a space probe to investigate a huge asteroid it fears could one day hit Earth.
Bennu crosses the Earth's orbit every six years, but is getting closer and closer.
The space rock is due to pass BETWEEN the Earth and the moon in 2135 - a distance of around 290,000 km away.
The asteroid is half a kilometre in diameter and travels at 63,000 miles per hour.
It was discovered in 1999 and has been a concern for scientists due to the potential risks for Earth.
To evaluate exactly how much of a risk the asteroid poses, NASA is launching a probe to collect rock samples to help find out more about the rock and what impact it could have.
Dante Lauretta, Professor of Planetary Science at Arizona University, and the NASA expert in charge of the mission said: “That 2135 fly-by is going to tweak Bennu’s orbit, potentially putting it on course for the Earth later that century.”
“We estimate the chance of impact at about one in 2,700 between 2175 and 2196.
“It may be destined to cause immense suffering and death."
The force of the asteroid hitting the Earth would be the equivalent of three billion tonnes of high explosive.
Professor Mark Bailey, emeritus director of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland and an expert on impact risks, shared the concerns over the asteroid.
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He said: “Bennu falls on the boundary, in terms of size, for an object capable of causing a global catastrophe.”
The OSIRIS-REX spacecraft is scheduled to launch next month and will arrive at Bennu in 2018.
It will spend a year mapping the asteroid and collecting rock samples.
The probe will also take measurements of a force that can alter the orbit of asteroids and potentially put them on a collision course with the Earth.
It is due to return to Earth by 2023.
Professor Lauretta explained: "The Yarkovsky effect is the force that acts on an asteroid when it absorbs sunlight and then radiates it back into space as heat.
"It acts like a small thruster, constantly changing its course.”
He added: "Bennu's position has shifted 160km since 1999."
The information it brings back on the size and make-up of the Bennu could be “vital data for future generations,” according to Professor Lauretta.
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