The hulking space rock has been studied extensively over the years, and scientists have calculated the risk of an impact with Earth in the far future.
aside, Bennu is of scientific importance for a number of reasons. For one thing, the asteroid's average orbital distance from the sun is around 105 million miles, which is relatively close to that of the Earth at 93 million miles.
On and beneath its pitch black surface, Bennu may contain chemicals and rocks from the birth of the solar system.Sample From the Surface The OSIRIS-REx probe began slowly drifting away from Bennu in April this year and set off on a two-year cruise back to Earth around a month later. Bennu comes close to Earth once every six years, and orbits at an average speed of around 63,000 miles per hour. It takes about 1.2 years to fully orbit the sun and rotates once every 4.3 hours.
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