New insights about surface, structure of asteroid Bennu: OSIRIS-REx data indicates surface, near-subsurface rubble is loosely bound
When NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected samples from asteroid Bennu’s surface in 2020, forces measured during the interaction provided scientists with a direct test of the poorly understood near-subsurface physical properties of rubble-pile asteroids. Now, a Southwest Research Institute-led study has characterized the layer just below the asteroid’s surface as composed of weakly bound rock fragments […]
Psyche, the iron giant of asteroids, may be less iron than researchers thought
The asteroid 16 Psyche, which NASA intends to visit with a spacecraft in 2026, may be less heavy metal and more hard rock than scientists have surmised, according to a new study by researchers from Brown and Purdue universities. Psyche, which orbits the sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is the largest […]