101955 Bennu

Asteroid 101955 Bennu is a near-Earth asteroid and the target of NASA's OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) mission. Discovered on September 11, 1999, by the LINEAR project, Bennu is classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid due to its close approach to Earth and its size, measuring approximately 490 meters (1,600 feet) in diameter. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at Bennu in December 2018 after a two-year journey. The mission's primary goal is to collect a sample of regolith (surface material) from Bennu and return it to Earth for detailed analysis. The spacecraft spent several months studying Bennu's surface, mapping its topography, composition, and spectral properties to select an optimal sampling site. In October 2020, OSIRIS-REx successfully touched down on Bennu's surface and collected a sample, marking a historic event in asteroid exploration. Studying Bennu's material will enhance our understanding of the early solar system's building blocks and could provide information about the origins of life on Earth. OSIRIS-REx departed Bennu in May 2021 and has returned the collected sample to Earth in September 2023, where scientists will further analyze it in laboratories around the world.