OSIRIS-REx Sheds Light on Hazardous Asteroid Bennu

On September 25, 2135, an asteroid called Bennu will make a close flyby of Earth. Our planet’s gravity will tweak Bennu’s path, making it a challenge to calculate its future trajectory. During the flyby, there is an extremely small chance that Bennu will pass through a “gravitational keyhole” – a region of space that would set it on just the right path to impact Earth, late in the 22nd century. Although it is difficult to determine the odds of this actually happening, new data from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft have allowed scientists to better model how Bennu’s orbit will evolve over time, and to better calculate the probability of an impact.

Music: “Time Particles” by Laetitia Frenod, via Universal Production Music

Video credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Dan Gallagher (KBRwyle): Producer
Josh Masters (Freelance): Lead Animator
Rani Gran (NASA/GSFC): Public Affairs Officer
Davide Farnocchia (JPL): Lead Scientist
Steven Chesley (JPL): Scientist
Dante Lauretta (The University of Arizona): Scientist
Dan Gallagher (KBRwyle): Narrator
Chris Smith (KBRwyle): Animator
Walt Feimer (KBRwyle): Animator
Michael Lentz (KBRwyle): Animator
Kel Elkins (USRA): Visualizer
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET): Support