Armageddon asteroid: Know thy enemy

Bennu the First   (Image by Jeff Dahl)

An asteroid known as “Bennu” (named after “an ancient Egyptian deity linked with the sun, creation and rebirth”) may hit the earth hard in a century and a half.

That is one major reason why NASA will launch Osiris REx on September 8, 2016.  This spacecraft is set to map “every detail” of Bennu, including its “size, mass and composition.”  Such information could one day save the human race from rocky devastation.

Should Bennu stray farther from Earth than expected, the knowledge gained by Osiris REx would still be vital.  NASA theorizes that the “well-preserved” state of Bennu’s organic molecules (mostly “carbon and hydrogen atoms”) may provide a glimpse into life’s beginnings.

Philosophically speaking, this may help to answer an age-old question:  Where do we come from?

Resources

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0801/NASA-readies-for-historic-mission-to-asteroid-that-could-someday-hit-Earth

Copyright August 2, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved