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One of the most exciting things NASA did in recent memory was a probe landing on the surface of the asteroid Bennu. OSIRIS-REx successfully landed briefly on the surface of the asteroid and engulfed a group of samples that will be returned to earth for study. After orbiting the asteroid for a couple of years, some new data has now been released that shed more light on the asteroid’s composition.
Researchers at the University of Colorado have announced results based on data acquired by the spacecraft in the two years it was in orbit, which shows that the asteroid is likely hollow. Aerospace Engineering Science Department Daniel Scheeres said it appears that the void in the asteroid center may contain a couple of soccer fields.
Since the asteroid’s core appears to be weaker than the outside, the asteroid’s long-term survival could be at risk. Scheeres says that in a million years or less, the entire asteroid could fall apart. By combining data recorded by OSIRIS-REx, the scientists were able to create a kind of map of the asteroid’s gravity, suggesting that the assumptions that the interior was solid and rocky were wrong.
The team believes the asteroid’s rotation could be responsible for the vacuum inside. Over time, Bennu’s rotation is gaining speed and they think he’s about to spin into pieces. Since the core is low density, it is easier for the entire asteroid to fall apart as it spins. Now that measurements of the asteroid’s gravitational field have finished, the team of scientists has finished their work on the OSIRIS-REx mission.
The results of their work have contributed to the plan for analyzing samples that will be returned to earth by the probe. The current plan will see the samples analyzed to determine cohesion between grains, a key physical property that affects the mass distribution observed in the study.
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