In one of the biggest surprises of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, its target asteroid, Bennu, turned out to be a jagged, rugged world covered in large boulders, with few of the smooth patches of sandy or pebbly material scientists had expected based on observations with Earth-based instruments. Bennu’s looks were quite deceiving, and until now, scientists struggled to figure out why.
Category:
Asteroids, Astromaterials, Bennu, Goddard Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer), Planetary Science, Planetary Science Division
Posted on
March 17, 2026
Sign up for our newsletter:
Categories
38
6
1
29
4
136
1
7
6
1
5
7
10
1
279
10
1
233
1
34
10
62
69
1
133
18
3
1
17
33
12
1
1
22
10
3
1
1
21
2
5
11
2
10
1
19
9
113
1
1
1
11
4
386
41
26
13
1
19
37
6
658
48
13
221
170
112
8
7
3
1
1
4
27
1
17
6
18
6
1
41
17
67
36
55
1
3
14
1
46
10
3
151
29
15
202
107
2
4
105
11
18
209
3
6
6
1
299
1
46
2
1
13
54
1
370
3
46
2
11
2
3
2
1
10
1
30
12
159
45
5
3
1
50
1
95
13
114
2
2
141
4
14
14
1
30
20
3
1
14
3
186
1
1
100
1
1
2
17
7
3
1
1
16
3
14
1
21
6
2
386
2
1
10
4
361
2
45
405
11
2
2
34
3
3
3
1
1
58
Blog Posts
APOD: 2026 September 23 – A New Lunar Crater: McGetchin
September 23, 2026
Boom Year for Desert Blooms
September 23, 2026
Curiosity Blog, Sols 5010-5015: Checking out the Bands
September 23, 2026