Why scientists were shocked by the physical structure of asteroid Bennu

When the OSIRIS-REx mission approached asteroid Bennu, the team encountered a significant surprise. This episode of NASA Explorers details the reality of navigating a celestial body that defied initial expectations, offering a look at the experts managing the risks of deep-space exploration.

The OSIRIS-REx mission revealed that Bennu was not the solid object some might expect, but rather a loosely packed rubble pile. This discovery forced the team to adapt their approach to the asteroid, highlighting the inherent unpredictability of space exploration.

The episode documents the technical challenges of the mission, specifically the Touch-and-Go (TAG) maneuver. During this critical operation, the spacecraft had a window of only six seconds to successfully collect a sample from the surface of the asteroid.

Source: NASA Explorers Season 6, Episode 2: Bennu’s Surprises