NASA mission will ‘fist bump’ an asteroid to reveal the Solar System’s secrets

NASA mission will ‘fist bump’ an asteroid to reveal the Solar System’s secrets

NASA mission will ‘fist bump’ an asteroid

NASA is about to grab its first-ever taste of an asteroid. On 20 October, some 334 million kilometres from Earth, the agency’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will approach a dark-coloured, diamond-shaped asteroid named Bennu, with the aim of touching its surface for a few seconds — long enough to vacuum up a collection of dust and pebbles. If successful, the spacecraft will then fly this carbon-rich rubble back to Earth, where scientists can examine it for clues to the history of the Solar System.

Nature | 6 min read