NASA’s asteroid probe just found something unexpected

[Mike Wehner]

• 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, and researchers can only guess as to how they got there.
• NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has been orbiting Bennu for months.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe has been orbiting the large space rock known as Bennu for many months now. It's been studying its surface, planning and testing its ability to grab a sample of its surface material, and just generally enjoying its time with the big weird rock.

Now, in a somewhat unexpected discovery, it seems as though the asteroid Bennu has bits of another asteroid on its surface. How they got there is anyone's guess, but the discovery is giving scientists a slightly better understanding of how certain asteroids form. Bennu, it seems, is a big old "rubble pile" according to NASA.

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NASA’s asteroid probe just found something unexpected originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 21 Sep 2020 at 19:26:22 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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