Experts at the space agency have touted the asteroid to be potentially hazardous and even a threat to life as we know it. The OSIRIS-Rex mission will blast off from Florida in September and is set to reach the asteroid dubbed Bennu in 2018.

The spacecraft will collect samples from the space rock which could pave the way for an asteroid mining industry, with some of them worth trillions of dollars because of their minerals which are scarce on Earth such as platinum. It will also give vital information on how to deflect asteroids from their collision course with Earth. READ MORE


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