In October 2020 , NASA’sOSIRIS - RExflew down to the surface of asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of stuff . The spacecraft is on its way back to Earth now and it will throw away the precious consignment on September 24 . Bennu is the most grave cognize asteroid with a very low hazard of hitting Earth in the 2100s and 2200s . The sampling will bring rock’n’roll full of insights into the showtime of the solar system – and the collection was massively help by Queen ’s Brian May .
May is not only a legendary rockstar and an outspoken environmentalist , he is also an astrophysicist whose PhD dissertation focus onZodiacal Light , the ghostly lambency that can appear in the sky like a off-key dawn or post - sunset . He ’s also been involved inAsteroid Day , a UN - sanctioned global sentience campaign about the risk of exposure of an asteroid impact . In the context of the enterprise , he met Professor Dante Lauretta , the Principal Investigator of OSIRIS - male monarch . This meeting has mold the mission and resulted in the two of them publishing a book on this critical collaboration .
IFLScience was ask over to the launching of their work , calledBennu 3 - cholecalciferol : Anatomy of an Asteroid . They showcased incredible three - dimensional views of Asteroid Bennu that showed how the asteroid is not a simple rubble mess , as it is affectionally described , buta space vehicle - killer rubble pile . Without those views , the risk was not obvious .
The interview can be watched below and on ourYouTube television channel . It present penetration into their work together , the scientific value of asteroid Bennu , and the commission . We also research why the involvement of May in the OSIRIS - REx delegation was so important to its succeeder – and it really was .
The 3D views came from May and his collaborator Claudia Manzoni . They produced stereoscopic images , pairs of images that grow the thaumaturgy of depth by being take at slightly different slant and being seen with glasses . At first , they just picked picture made publicly useable and , once ready , divvy up them with Lauretta . It was at that stage that the OSIRIS - male monarch squad realized that these views could become mission - vital .
“ It really change my whole perspective of the data . All of a sudden a new property opened up , ” Professor Lauretta told IFLScience .
Lauretta ask over May and Manzoni to become part of the deputation by producing more 3D view of the asteroid . The goal was to help the team work out where was the best plaza to fly down and collect the sampling . Something easier said than done . There was a exclusive camera , so the pair had to match two view of the same part at slightly different angles , but also correct for the shadows as Bennu spins every 4.3 60 minutes on its axis , so the sun - cast shadows quickly move .
“ We forgather stereophonic system images , 3D images , from all kinds of missions , and [ being involved with the missionary post ] was a form of dream to me , ” Sir May enjoin IFLScience . “ of a sudden I had this real scientist who was sending me poppycock to do and it becomes kind of like a job because it was a quite a little of time of day to put in , but it ’s joy , it ’s just such a joy to work on these double . ”
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Bennu is like a clock time capsule , holding entropy about what it was like when the Earth was born . Studying it is a unique window into the yesteryear . The most intriguing fabric that the team could note from ambit was in relatively small Crater , some surrounded by boulder and exorbitant walls . May and Manzoni ’s three-D persona were central to eventually select the landing place site .
The spacecraft ’s goal was to pick up at least 60 grams ( 2.1 ounces ) of material . The team approximate that between 150 and 350 grams ( 5.3 to 12.3 ounces ) were collected . Truly a treasure trove . Once the capsule is safely back on Earth – the team has beenpracticing the recovery – the spacecraft will continue its journeying into space towards another notoriously dangerous asteroid : Apophis . Then , it will get its name alter toOSIRIS - APEX .
Apophis is a concerning objective with possible collision dates with our planet in 2029 , 2036 , and 2068 . But observations in 2021 have shown that we should n’t worryfor at least a century . The most dangerous known object remains Bennu . It has a 1 in 1,750 chance of hit our planet before 2300 , with the most likely day of the month being another September 24 – but in 2182 . More observations will show if this peril is going to get higher or disappear . And if it flummox mellow at least NASA ’s DART has proven we can deflect asteroid .
The book can be bribe onThe London Stereoscopic Company website .
