Spinning Space Entertainment
Bennu - Spinning Space Rock
NASA Probe
NASA's OSIRIS- REx mission arrived at the spinning, diamond shaped asteroid Bennu earlier this year. It has just started relaying images of it. This spinning image was captured by an advanced laser built into OSIRIS. It shows how dangerous the rocky surface is. The space rock is so packed with debris at the surface level, NASA hasn't been able to determine where to land a probe on the asteroid.
Diamond Shaped Rock in the Sky
The laser paints a 3D picture of the rock surface that it's bouncing off and provides NASA a detailed glimpse of the rocky surface. Selecting where to briefly land the OSIRIS probe to collect samples is critical. Landing in an area with too much debris and high rocky cliffs could destroy the mission. The laser images indicate there aren't many clear areas on the rock to land. At any rate, OSIRIS will orbit Bennu for the rest of the year before attempting the landing which may be high risk.
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| Source: NASA |
NASA Probe
NASA's OSIRIS- REx mission arrived at the spinning, diamond shaped asteroid Bennu earlier this year. It has just started relaying images of it. This spinning image was captured by an advanced laser built into OSIRIS. It shows how dangerous the rocky surface is. The space rock is so packed with debris at the surface level, NASA hasn't been able to determine where to land a probe on the asteroid.
Diamond Shaped Rock in the Sky
The laser paints a 3D picture of the rock surface that it's bouncing off and provides NASA a detailed glimpse of the rocky surface. Selecting where to briefly land the OSIRIS probe to collect samples is critical. Landing in an area with too much debris and high rocky cliffs could destroy the mission. The laser images indicate there aren't many clear areas on the rock to land. At any rate, OSIRIS will orbit Bennu for the rest of the year before attempting the landing which may be high risk.
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