According to NASA “Initial studies of the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu sample collected in space and brought to Earth by NASA show evidence of water and high-carbon content, which together could indicate the building blocks of life on Earth may be found in the rock. NASA made the news Wednesday from its Johnson Space Center in Houston where leadership and scientists showed off the asteroid material for the first time since it landed in September.” Keith’s note: A student in the audience at JSC asked the NASA OSIRIS_REx panel “where did asteroid Bennu come from?” A basic question people in the real world might want to know. The NASA panelists laughed at his question and the audience chuckled at NASA’s reaction. Not a smart thing for NASA SMD and PAO staff to do. Just sayin’.

Keith’s note: I was on CTV tonight to talk about the flyby of asteroid 2023 BU. Since everyone tries to out do everyone else with comparing the size od these things to something that is well known I did some quick math and came up with a rough quesstimate of ~250,000 Tim Hortons Double Doubles. Audio Video Below

Keith’s note: Asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1), 1 kilometer in diameter will fly by Earth today 4.51 p.m. ET. It is moving at 47,344 miles per hour and will get no closer than 1.2 million miles. I was on CNN this morning to talk about this fly by and NASA’s DART mission to impact another asteroid, (65803) Didymos this Fall. Keith Cowing · SpaceRef on CNN: Asteroid Flyby

Keith Cowing · SpaceRef on Deutsche Welle: Launch of the NASA DART Mission Keith Cowing · SpaceRef on Alhurra: NASA's DART Mission Keith Cowing · SpaceRef on Deutsche Welle: NASA's DART Mission

OSIRIS-REx Samples Asteroid Bennu “NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft unfurled its robotic arm Tuesday, and in a first for the agency, briefly touched an asteroid to collect dust and pebbles from the surface for delivery to Earth in 2023. This well-preserved, ancient asteroid, known as Bennu, is currently more than 200 million miles (321 million kilometers) from Earth. Bennu offers scientists a window into […]

Keith’s note: My question to the 1:00 pm Asteroid mission media telecon: “There is a lot of talk these days from NASA about the collection and utilization of resources in the solar system – indeed, the recently signed #Artemis Accords specifically deal with this issue with regard to the Moon, Mars, Asteroids, and comets. Is the OSIRIS-Rex sample collection system open source – can other space agencies or companies use […]

That Giant Asteroid of Gold Won’t Make Us Richer “Rejoice, people of Earth! News outlets are reporting that NASA is planning to visit an asteroid made of gold and other precious metals! At current prices, the minerals contained in asteroid 16 Psyche are said to be worth $700 quintillion — enough to give everyone on the planet $93 billion. We’re all going to be richer than Jeff Bezos! OK, now […]

OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Arrives at Asteroid Bennu “The spacecraft executed a maneuver that transitioned it from flying toward Bennu to operating around the asteroid. Now, at about 11.8 miles (19 kilometers) from Bennu’s Sun-facing surface, OSIRIS-REx will begin a preliminary survey of the asteroid. The spacecraft will commence flyovers of Bennu’s north pole, equatorial region, and south pole, getting as close as nearly 4 miles (7 kilometers) above Bennu during each […]

Smith, Babin Request Info on ARM Press Release, Report “As the incoming Administration evaluates ARM, it would benefit from clear guidance from both NASA and its advisory bodies. Similarly, it should be unencumbered by decisions made in the twilight of this Administration’s term. Contrary to the assertions made in the press release, numerous advisory bodies have questioned the merits of the President’s ARM mission. The NASA Advisory Council, the Small […]

White House, NASA to Discuss Asteroid Redirect Mission’s Importance for Journey to Mars, Planetary Defense “NASA will provide three virtual updates on two planned Asteroid Redirect Missions (ARM) Wednesday, Sept. 14 at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA Television will provide coverage at 11 a.m. EDT of the first briefing to discuss ARM’s contributions to the Journey to Mars and protection of our planet.” “This event […]