Japan’s asteroid probe grabbed a ton of material on its second attempt
The asteroid probe Hayabusa2, sent by the Japanese space agency JAXA, made two attempts to collect material from the surface of the space rock Ryugu. …
Asteroid
How did astronomers miss this asteroid that just almost hit Earth?
A small asteroid made an extremely close pass of Earth recently and wasn’t detected until after it had already passed. The asteroid known as 2020 …
NASA’s asteroid probe grabbed so much material it was ‘overflowing’
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is going even better than scientists thought, and the asteroid probe collected so much material that its handlers sped up the timeline …
Mega-dangerous asteroid called ‘God of Chaos’ is headed toward Earth
The massive space rock known as Apophis will pass by Earth several times in the upcoming decades. A collision with Earth has been ruled out …
This asteroid is worth more than you can possibly fathom
An all-metal asteroid residing in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter called 16 Psych is worth an incredible amount of money. A new study …
NASA grabbed a bunch of space rock material, and that’s awesome
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully touched down on the asteroid called Benny last week, and we now know that it grabbed enough material to consider that …
This video from NASA’s asteroid probe is stunning
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe performed its Touch-And-Go maneuver on the space rock Bennu days ago. The new video shows the probe slapping the surface of …
NASA won’t know if it successfully obtained an asteroid sample for a week
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe successfully performed its “Touch And Go” maneuver on the surface of the space rock Bennu last night. The spacecraft did what …
Scientists spot hints of flowing water on asteroid’s surface
The asteroid known as Bennu has revealed some tantalizing secrets to NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Some rocks and surface features of the asteroid appear to indicate …
NASA’s asteroid probe is about to perform its riskiest move yet
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe will finally attempt its risky sample-gathering maneuver last next month. The spacecraft will perform a delicate “touch-and-go” maneuver to snag a …
An asteroid just missed Earth this morning, but it’s fine
An asteroid passed by Earth early this morning at such a short distance that it was closer to the surface than many satellites. The space …
A rocket booster from the 1960s may have come back to haunt us
Astronomers have spotted what appears to be an asteroid headed for Earth orbit. If the object is indeed an asteroid and inserts itself into Earth …
NASA’s asteroid probe just found something unexpected
Scientists studying the asteroid Bennu have discovered parts of a different asteroid on its surface. Bennu has chunks of the asteroid Vesta on its surface, …
Why is this asteroid sending parts of itself into space?
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe has spotted the asteroid Bennu flinging pieces of its own surface into space. These “particle ejection events” happen all the time, …
An asteroid won’t hit before Election Day, even if you want it to
An asteroid is slated to make a very close pass of Earth on November 2nd, just one day before the 2020 US Presidential Election. The …
An asteroid just came shockingly close as it flew by Earth
An asteroid sped past Earth before any scientists even knew it was there. The asteroid, which was estimated to be as large as 18 feet …
Can NASA’s asteroid probe grab a sample without being destroyed?
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe just nailed its second trial run for a sample collection attempt in October. The goal is to obtain samples from the …
A 65-foot-long asteroid just sped past Earth and we almost missed it
Astronomers from the University of Hawaii detected a near-Earth asteroid just as it made its way past our planet. The rock, which the scientists estimate …
NASA finally names the asteroid it’s going to crash into
NASA is sending a spacecraft to slam into the side of a tiny asteroid in 2022. The asteroid is part of a binary pair, and …
NASA gets up close and personal with space rock Bennu
NASA’s asteroid sampling OSIRIS-REx probe took a dive toward one of its sample collection sites and sent back a gorgeous image. The site is called …
Japanese asteroid probe discovers an incredible secret
Japan’s Hayabusa2 asteroid probe snapped images that reveal the space rock had a close encounter with the Sun. Scorched rock was present on the asteroid’s …
That ‘alien probe’ asteroid might be a chunk of an alien planet
Oumuamua, the first interstellar object spotted by mankind, might be a fragment of a planet that was torn apart by its star. Researchers ran simulations …
NASA’s asteroid probe is rehearsing for its most dangerous move yet
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe is about to perform its most daring maneuver yet. In a rehearsal for the sample-gathering act planned for later this year, …
Ancient humans saw an asteroid apocalypse first-hand
An asteroid or comet completely wiped out the ancient human settlement of Abu Hureyra. The impact is likely part of a larger cosmic impact event …
A colossal asteroid is about to pass by Earth, but we’ll be fine
NASA and other space agencies around the globe do their best to keep a close eye on objects that get a little too close to …
NASA finally picked its landing spot on asteroid Bennu
Earlier this month, NASA revealed the final four would-be landing spots for its OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe. The locations, known as Nightingale, Kingfisher, Osprey, and Sandpiper, …
Here are the places on asteroid Bennu where NASA might grab its sample
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe has been hanging around the space rock named Bennu for roughly a year now, and it’s observed some interesting things over …
NASA’s probe spots asteroid spewing chunks of itself into space
NASA started off the year strong with big news from its OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe. In early January, NASA celebrated the successful insertion of the probe …
Japan’s asteroid probe just fired up its engine for a historic return to Earth
Japan’s Hayabusa2 asteroid probe has already accomplished a lot. The spacecraft successfully traveled to its target, a space rock known as Ryugu, where it entered …
Japan’s asteroid probe is headed back to Earth, and it’s carrying precious cargo
The Japanese space program JAXA has accomplished a lot in 2019. After successfully guiding its asteroid probe Hayabusa2 to the space rock known as Ryugu …
