First glimpse of asteroid Bennu samples reveals carbon, water

The first views of 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu samples collected in space and recently brought reveal water and high-carbon content.

U. Arizona • futurity
Oct. 13, 2023 • ~7 min

Osiris-Rex: Nasa reveals evidence of water and carbon in sample delivered to Earth from an asteroid

Studying the sample could help answer how water arrived on Earth and how life started.

Lucinda King, Space Projects Manager & Mission Design Lead, University of Portsmouth • conversation
Oct. 13, 2023 • ~7 min

Nasa's Psyche mission is set for launch – here's how it could unveil the interior secrets of planets

The asteroid is interesting from a scientific perspective as well as a commercial one.

Ian Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Oct. 12, 2023 • ~6 min

Astronomers have learned lots about the universe − but how do they study astronomical objects too distant to visit?

Controlled experiments are impossible in astronomy, as are direct measurements of physical properties of objects outside our solar system. So how do astronomers know so much about them?

Luke Keller, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Ithaca College • conversation
Oct. 12, 2023 • ~7 min

OSIRIS-REx lands capsule with asteroid Bennu samples

After traveling billions of miles, the NASA OSIRIS-REx mission has landed a capsule with rocks and dust from the asteroid Bennu in the Utah desert.

Daniel Stolte-Arizona • futurity
Sept. 26, 2023 • ~10 min

A Nasa spacecraft is on course to deliver material from an asteroid to Earth – here's what we could learn

Missions to asteroids are opening up the secrets of the Solar System

Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University • conversation
Sept. 21, 2023 • ~8 min

Flowering plants survived the dinosaur-killing asteroid – and may outlive us

The fossil record tells conflicting stories about what happened to flowering plants after the asteroid.

Jamie Thompson, Postdoctoral Evolutionary Biologist, University of Bath • conversation
Sept. 13, 2023 • ~8 min

Have we really found the first samples from beyond the Solar System? The evidence is not convincing

Could spherical metallic fragments be from a nuclear test?

Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University • conversation
Sept. 6, 2023 • ~8 min

NASA's Psyche mission to a metal world may reveal the mysteries of Earth's interior

Liftoff to the distant asteroid is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2023 – the beginning of a six-year journey to one of the most unusual objects in the solar system.

Jim Bell, Professor of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University • conversation
Aug. 17, 2023 • ~6 min

AI System Finds First Possibly Dangerous Asteroid
VOA Learning English • voa
Aug. 6, 2023 • ~6 min

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