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Small bodies Bennu and 67P as delivery stories

The asteroids Bennu and comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko are key to understanding how materials from the early solar system were delivered to Earth. Bennu, a carbon-rich asteroid, was visited by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, which collected and returned samples to Earth. These samples contain water, organic compounds, and clues about the formation of life's building blocks. 67P, a comet studied by the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission, revealed organic molecules and insights into the origins of Earth's water and complex chemistry. Both missions highlight the role of small bodies in delivering essential materials to Earth, shaping the conditions for life.

Figure (1)

Bennu is a near-Earth asteroid with a diameter of about 490 meters. It is a carbonaceous asteroid, meaning it is rich in carbon and organic materials. The OSIRIS-REx mission collected samples from Bennu's surface, which are being studied for water content, organic compounds, and other materials that may have contributed to the development of life on Earth.

Bennu's surface is rough and covered with boulders, and it is rotating faster over time due to the Yarkovsky–O'Keefe–Radzievskii–Paddack effect. 67P is a comet with a distinctive two-lobed shape, resembling a rubber duck. It is part of the Jupiter-family of comets and has an orbital period of about 6.45 years. The Rosetta mission studied 67P and its lander, Philae, collected data from the comet's surface. 67P's surface is active, with outbursts of gas and dust, and it contains organic compounds.

The comet's water has a different isotopic composition compared to Earth's water, suggesting it may not be the primary source of Earth's water. The samples and data collected from these missions provide insights into the processes that may have contributed to the formation of life on Earth. These small bodies are considered time capsules, preserving materials from the early solar system and offering clues about the origins of life.

Key Points

  • Bennu is a carbonaceous asteroid in the Apollo group, discovered by the LINEAR Project on 11 September 1999, and is the target of the OSIRIS-REx mission that returned samples to Earth.
  • 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko is a Jupiter-family comet that was the destination of the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission, which included the first spacecraft to land on a comet nucleus.
  • OSIRIS-REx is a NASA asteroid-study and sample-return mission that visited and collected samples from 101955 Bennu, a carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid, and later began a follow-up mission to asteroid 99942 Apophis.
  • Rosetta was a space probe built by the European Space Agency that performed a detailed study of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, including the first successful landing on a comet by its lander module Philae.
  • A comet is a small body in the Solar System that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to evolve a coma (a thin, temporary atmosphere) and sometimes a tail.
  • An asteroid is a small rocky body orbiting the Sun, typically found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, but some, like Bennu, are near-Earth objects.

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