Research, published in聽, led by Lassonde School of Engineering Professor聽, provides new insights into the formation of near-Earth asteroid聽Bennu, and how it evolved into its present shape.
顿补濒测,听the lead instrument scientist for Canada鈥檚 contribution of the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA), along with a team of researchers, used data from OLA to create a 20-centimetre resolution model of Bennu鈥檚 roughly 500-metre diameter shape 鈥 the most detailed asteroid model to date.聽OLA and the Canadian science team are funded by the Canadian Space Agency.
An artist's concept drawing of OSIRIS-REx
OSIRIS-REx extends its sampling arm as it moves in to make contact with the asteroid Bennu
叠别苍苍耻听is a near-Earth聽asteroid that formed in the asteroid belt and found its way into a closer proximity to Earth due to gravitational interactions with giant planets and聽forces due to聽heating from the Sun.聽
The analysis of this shape concludes that Bennu鈥檚 rounder southern hemisphere is caused by a hemispherical difference in the number of large boulders 鈥 a consequence of its formation 鈥 that are holding back finer surface material. The research also provides evidence of a past global, spin-related partial disruption that is still expressed in Bennu鈥檚 shape.
鈥淥ur research on this type of asteroid is important in understanding the evolution the solar system and of the Earth, because it was this type of asteroid that delivered water and organics to the Earth,鈥 says Daly, director of 91亚色鈥檚 Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science (CRESS).聽
OSIRIS-REx 鈥 the first-ever sampling mission by NASA to the distant asteroid Bennu 鈥 was successfully launched into space on Sept. 8, 2016 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission aims to revolutionize our understanding of asteroids and the origins of the universe. Daly was the scientific lead for the mission.