Why Did NASA Choose Asteroid Bennu?

OSIRIS-REx was the first U.S. mission to retrieve a sample from an asteroid and deliver it to Earth. So, of the more than one million known asteroids in our solar system, why did NASA choose the near-Earth asteroid Bennu for its target? Three factors made Bennu ideal: proximity to Earth, the right size and spin rate, and a carbon-rich composition. Now, scientists studying the Bennu samples are learning more about the history of our solar system and the origins of life – thanks to this one-in-a-million asteroid. Learn more about OSIRIS-REx and asteroid Bennu: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osir...Show more

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Chris Burns: Producer/Editor
Dan Gallagher: Writer/Director
Lauren Ward: Narrator
Kel Elkins: Data Visualizer
Chris Meaney: Animator
Michael Lentz: Animator
Lisa Poje: Animator
Walt Feimer: Animator
Josh Masters: Animator
Jason Dworkin: Scientist
Amy A. Simon: Scientist
Michael Starobin: Support
Sami Aziz: Support
Erin Moton: Support
Alana Johnson: Support
Rani Gran: Public Affairs
Rachel Barry: Public Affairs

Universal Production Music: “Spin Foam” by Mauricio Loseto [PRS], Ninja Tune Production Music [PRS]

This video can be freely shared and downloaded at https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14398. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, the music and some individual imagery may have been obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. Specific details on such imagery may be found here: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14398. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit https://nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines.

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