Nasa is apparently concerned over a potential collision with Earth in the future from an asteroid so according to a recent report it is planning to launch a probe to collect rock samples from it.  The asteroid, named Bennu, is visible from Earth as it crosses the planet’s orbit every six years. Bennu, which is around 500m in diameter at its equator and travels around the sun at 63,000 mph, will pass between Earth and the moon in 2135.

Excerpt From The Telegraph:
“That 2135 fly-by is going to tweak Bennu’s orbit, potentially putting it on course for the Earth later that century,” Dante Lauretta, professor of planetary science at Arizona University, told The Sunday Times. “It may be destined to cause immense suffering and death,” he added. Mr Lauretta, Nasa’s principal investigator in charge of the Osiris-Rex probe mission to Bennu, launching in September, said the probe will map the asteroid, pick up some rock samples and then head back to Earth.


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