An asteroid could crash into Earth, but there’s nothing to worry about; this is why

Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid, was first identified in 1999 and has been in NASA’s sights for some time. It is a behemoth about a mile wide, comparable in size to the Empire State Building in New York. If it collides with Earth, experts say the impact could release energy equivalent to 22 nuclear bombs.

Following a major milestone in October 2020, when OSIRIS-REx successfully collected a sample weighing approximately 250 grams, the largest ever retrieved from space, according to Earth.com.

This Sunday, the spacecraft will release a capsule the size of a mini refrigerator, carrying the sample, into Earth’s atmosphere. It will speed toward Earth at an astonishing speed of 28,000 miles per hour, withstand temperatures twice that of lava, and eventually parachute into Utah’s Great Salt Lake Desert.

The importance of this mission is not just about preventing disasters. Bennu’s sample will also give scientists a glimpse into the processes that led to the formation of our solar system about 4.5 billion years ago.

Nicola Fox, an employee of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, stated that the material could potentially shed light on the creation of the early solar system and even how life could have emerged on Earth, Earth.com reported.

The asteroid was named Bennu in 2013 by a nine-year-old North Carolina resident after his victory in a naming contest. He took the name from an ancient Egyptian deity.

Why not worry?

NASA has calculated that the chance of Bennu crashing into Earth is 1 in 2700, with the most critical time frame being September 24, 2182.

Updated: Sep 20, 2023 09:45 AM IST