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NASA, University of Arizona set to make history with mission next month

NASA is in the final stages of spiraling down toward a 1,640-foot space rock called Bennu.

PHOENIX — NASA is looking to make history next month. It is scheduled to collect dirt and gravel from a space rock.

“I knew right away we were in for a challenge,” said an expert at a NASA and University of Arizona teleconference.

NASA is in the final stages of spiraling down toward a 1,640-foot space rock called Bennu. 

It hopes to land the spacecraft on a flat, boulder-free region that is 26 feet wide -- a tight landing for a spacecraft that is the same size as a 15 passenger van, according to Space.com. Basically, there is little room for error.

“There is nothing that looks like a beach anywhere on this asteroid. Instead, it is covered by boulders. This is a rough, rugged rocky surface,” the expert explained as video covered his presentation.

The landing spot has been dubbed Nightingale. According to the expert who spoke at the NASA and University of Arizona teleconference, the space agency spent all of 2019 planning this mission.

“Mapping this asteroid in exquisite detail with cameras, with our laser altimeters and with our amazing spectrometers,” he said.

The team, which includes University of Arizona students, is pursuing organic rich material. It is supposed to help scientists better understand how life got started on earth. Based on preliminary research, Bennu promises to be full of this precious substance.

“Bennu really delivered for us here. And I can’t tell you how excited I am to get those samples back into our laboratories and begin that sample analysis phase of the mission,” the expert exclaimed.

The spacecraft, OSIRIS-REx, plans to leave Bennu in March 2021 and return with what promises to be organic rich material in September 2024. 

That is, of course, if everything goes according to plan.

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