Explanation:
Where is the best place to collect a surface sample from asteroid Bennu?
Launched in 2016, NASA sent the robotic
Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer
(OSIRIS-REx) to investigate the 500-meter-across asteroid
101955
Bennu.
After mapping the near-Earth asteroid's dark surface, OSIRIS-REx will next touch
Bennu's
surface in 2020 August to collect a surface sample.
The featured 23-second time-lapse video
shows four candidate locations for the touch, from which
NASA
chose just one earlier this month.
NASA chose the Nightingale near Bennu's northern
hemisphere as the primary touch-down spot because of its relative flatness, lack
of
boulders, and apparent abundance of fine-grained sand.
Location Osprey is the backup.
NASA plans to
return soil samples for
Bennu to Earth in 2023 for a detailed analysis.
