Asteroid Bennu’s Surprising Surface Revealed by NASA Spacecraft

Near-Earth asteroid Bennu is a rubble pile of rocks and boulders left over from the formation of the solar system. On October 20, 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touched down on Bennu and collected a sample for return to Earth. During this “TAG event,” the spacecraft’s arm sank far deeper into the asteroid than expected, confirming that Bennu’s surface is incredibly weak. Now, scientists have used data from OSIRIS-REx to revisit the TAG event and better understand how Bennu’s loose upper layers are held together.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab/SVS
Dan Gallagher (KBRwyle): Producer
Jonathan North (KBRwyle): Lead Animator
Kel Elkins (USRA): Lead Data Visualizer
Alexander Bodnar (AIMM): Animator
Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (KBRwyle): Animator
Walt Feimer (KBRwyle): Animator
Lisa Poje (Freelance): Animator
Dan Gallagher (KBRwyle): Narrator
Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona): Lead Scientist
Kevin Walsh (SwRI): Scientist
Ronald Ballouz (JHUAPL): Scientist
Olivier Barnouin (JHUAPL): Scientist
Rani Gran (NASA/GSFC): Public Affairs Officer
Nancy Neal-Jones (NASA/GSFC): Public Affairs Officer
James Tralie (ADNET): Support
Ernie Wright (USRA): Support
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET): Technical Support

Universal Production Music: “Difficult Conversation” and “Into Motion” by Peter Larsen; “Big Data” by Dominique Dalcan; “Subsurface” by Ben Niblett and Jon Cotton; “Crypto Current” by Dominique Dalcan; “Spaceman” by Rainman



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[inesis]

OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was truly groundbreaking...

[dangolfishin]

I imagine you could mine an asteroid like this with nothing more than a vacuum

[AnotherGlenn]

I wonder how much material was put into orbit around Bennu and how much escaped.

[stevenpilling]

It's amazing that these asteroids can hold together at all.

[lkjdfjsdlfj]

Bennu size: 565 x 535 x 508 m, Mass: 7.33e10 kg, closest distance from Earth: 482, 120 km.

[bennoejsing]

Nice to hear ones name mentioned so many times

[justincase]

So basically it’s just a massive dust bunny. 😊

[olivierbolton]

Space will always remain fascinating...thank you NASA

[udoposthuma]

Interesting video! And what an archievement for this crew from NASA! Nice to see how an operation like this exactly works. Thanks for sharing!😀

[brucetutton]

I would have guessed electrostatic attraction would dominate over gravity as a binding force. Can any experts chip in with a ratio of forces? Well done team.

[oksyar]

So if Bennu were to hit earth, it'll most likely collapse into very small pieces in atmosphere and disintegrate. Unless its inner core is like a solid metal. If.

[timsmith]

@NASA Goddard, Great videos and explanations to us amateur science enthusiasts

[Erdal_Gumus]

This discovery will definitely reshape future asteroid missions and probe designs

[IsaacGerken]

Liquid rock asteroids, awesome. Wonder how long it'll take this little nugget of info finds its way into a sci fi movie.

[benkayvfalsifier]

So is it possible that many asteroids are not a solid rock, but actually just a bunch of rocks, pebbles, and dust?

[PlayhouseRage]

Bennu is getting Medicare and a gang of robo calls for extended auto warranty

[kikufutaba]

Simply amazing. Thank you for posting this documentary.

[nickbeck]

So does this change some of our understanding of asteroids and our ability to break up or "redirect" one headed towards earth?

[edwin]

Thanks! It's great to see videos about real space exploration.

[nzuckman]

How fast was Osiris rex coming in when it contacted Benu? It's bonkers that it would move 6 tons of material from what looks like a slow approach.