Large asteroid fragment has touched down on earth

A big piece of a very large flying rock that comes close to earth every six years has just landed on earth.

Nasa has collected clean samples of the asteroid called Bennu to study, and the samples have landed in the Utah desert with the help of a parachute.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, sent by NASA, has been collecting rocks and dust from Bennu’s surface since 2020. It was launched in 2016 as part of NASA’s first mission to gather samples from an asteroid.

During a quick visit to Earth, the main spacecraft released a small container from a distance of 63,000 miles.

The little capsule landed on the ground after four hours while the main spaceship went on a mission to another asteroid.

The people at Nasa stood up and clapped when the piece landed safely on time, but even earlier than expected.

After the capsule lands 70 miles west of Salt Lake City, it will be taken to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, along with the samples it contains.

We made special tools to study things and one of them can look at really tiny things.
The team wants to learn more about how asteroids were important in forming the solar system long ago. They think Bennu, which is around 4. 5 billion years old, can give them information like a time capsule about the secrets of the universe.

It will take Nasa two years to study the asteroid. After that, there is still more than 150 years left before any possible crash could happen.

One-fourth of the group will be given to more than 200 people from 38 different institutions around the world. These institutions include scientists from the University of Manchester and the Natural History Museum.

Scientists think that the capsule contains at least a cup of rubble, but they can’t be certain until they open it.

A few rocks spilled out and floated away because the spacecraft collected too much and the lid got stuck when it picked them up three years ago.
Japan is the only other country to have collected samples from an asteroid. They collected about a teaspoon’s worth of samples during two missions.

The rocks and dirt symbolize the largest collection of things found outside of the moon.

The preserved pieces that were created at the beginning of our solar system 4. 5 billion years ago will assist scientists in gaining a clearer understanding of how the earth and life came to be.

Scientists think that in the future, a space rock called Bennu could hit our planet. It nearly hit us three times already, in 1999, 2005, and 2011. This was reported by Sky News.

The asteroid might come near the Earth in September 2182. There is a small chance, about 1 in 2,700, that it could crash into our planet that year.