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NASA scientists have revealed they are in the “final stretch” of their mission to avert an asteroid striking the Earth.
Experts believe that September 24, 2182 marks the day an asteroid named Bennu could hit the planet with the force of 22 atom bombs. The space rock - which is the same size as the Empire State building - swings close to our planet every six years.
But the asteroid will have its closest encounter with Earth 159 years from now. Although the odds of a catastrophic strike are 1 in 2,700, Nasa launched a spacecraft to Bennu seven years ago to collect samples. They hope the data could help prepare them should an Armageddon-style deflection mission be required. Asteroid samples from the OSIRIS-REx mission will reach Earth this week, touching down in the Utah desert on Sept 24.
Rich Burns, project manager for OSIRIS-REx at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, told the Sunday Telegraph: “We are now in the final leg of this seven-year journey, and it feels very much like the last few miles of a marathon, with a confluence of emotions like pride and joy coexisting with a determined focus to complete the race well.”
Read full story HERE
Experts believe that September 24, 2182 marks the day an asteroid named Bennu could hit the planet with the force of 22 atom bombs. The space rock - which is the same size as the Empire State building - swings close to our planet every six years.
But the asteroid will have its closest encounter with Earth 159 years from now. Although the odds of a catastrophic strike are 1 in 2,700, Nasa launched a spacecraft to Bennu seven years ago to collect samples. They hope the data could help prepare them should an Armageddon-style deflection mission be required. Asteroid samples from the OSIRIS-REx mission will reach Earth this week, touching down in the Utah desert on Sept 24.
Rich Burns, project manager for OSIRIS-REx at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, told the Sunday Telegraph: “We are now in the final leg of this seven-year journey, and it feels very much like the last few miles of a marathon, with a confluence of emotions like pride and joy coexisting with a determined focus to complete the race well.”
Read full story HERE
