Asteroid the size of the Giza Pyramids to make ‘close’ pass by Earth at speed of 18,000 miles per hour An asteroid is between 318 to 720 feet in length, and will pass by the Earth as it travels at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour GO20 is expected to come as close as … Read more
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has embarked on its 1.4 billion-mile journey back to Earth after spending two years on asteroid Bennu. OSIRIS-REx (the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) was the first NASA mission to visit a near-Earth asteroid, survey the surface, and collect a sample to deliver to Earth. The craft is carrying … Read more
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission will leave asteroid Bennu today and begin its 1.4 billion mile, two year long journey back to the Earth, the space agency confirmed. OSIRIS-REx (the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) was the first NASA mission to visit a near-Earth asteroid, survey the surface, and collect a sample to deliver to … Read more
Crocodiles survived the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 66million years ago due to ‘snappy evolution’ that saw the animals flourish on land AND in the oceans Experts studied over 200 skulls and jaws of crocodiles and their extinct species Some extinct crocodile groups evolved very fast over millions of year Today’s crocodiles and … Read more
The materials essential for life on Earth including organic matter and water have been discovered on the surface of an asteroid for the first time, study shows. Planetary scientists from Royal Holloway University of London examined a single grain of dust returned to Earth from asteroid Itokawa by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as part … Read more
A small capsule containing asteroid soil samples that was dropped from 136,700 miles in space by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft landed as planned in the Australian Outback on Sunday, December 6. A member of JAXA retrieves a capsule dropped by Hayabusa2 in Woomera, southern Australia WHAT IS THE HAYABUSA2 MISSION? Launched on December 3, 2014, the … Read more
An asteroid bigger than the Statue of Liberty will fly past Earth at 8:20pm GMT on Christmas Day, according to data from NASA’s Center for Near Earth Studies. The asteroid, called 2014 SD224, will come within 0.02019 astronomical units, or nearly 1.9 million miles, from the Earth’s surface. 2014 SD224 has a diameter anywhere between 302 … Read more
An asteroid that exploded in Earth’s atmosphere in 2008 was part of a much larger space rock that once contained water, a new study reveals. The asteroid, called 2008 TC3, lit up the skies of Sudan in October 2008 and showered the ground with 600 meteorites, known collectively as Almahata Sitta. After analysing a fragment of Almahata Sitta, US … Read more
A small capsule containing asteroid soil samples that was dropped from 136,700 miles in space by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft landed as planned in the Australian Outback on Sunday, December 6. A member of JAXA retrieves a capsule dropped by Hayabusa2 in Woomera, southern Australia WHAT IS THE HAYABUSA2 MISSION? Launched on December 3, 2014, the … Read more
A capsule released by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft containing samples from a distant asteroid has landed in southern Australia after travelling three billion miles on a six year voyage. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said the Hayabusa2 craft had successfully released the small capsule on Saturday and sent it towards Earth to deliver samples from … Read more