{"id":27229,"date":"2024-03-15T22:02:53","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T22:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radiantmedia.io\/?p=27229"},"modified":"2024-03-15T22:02:54","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T22:02:54","slug":"nasa-once-paid-a-man-1000000000-to-prevent-an-asteroid-from-colliding-with-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/34.197.49.85\/?p=27229","title":{"rendered":"NASA Once Paid A Man $1,000,000,000 To Prevent An Asteroid From Colliding With Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NASA once paid a guy $1 billion to divert a potentially catastrophic asteroid from hitting Earth.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Bennu, with a diameter about equal to the height of the Empire State Building, is a formidable opponent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The asteroid is made up of rocks held together by gravity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ MORE: Scientists Issue A Dire Warning To NASA, Stating That Its Current Plans Could \u201cDestroy\u201d The Moon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the most dangerous known ‘possibly hazardous’ asteroid, which means it is within around 4.6 million miles of Earth’s orbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Experts have since concluded that Bennu has a 1-in-2,700 chance of colliding with Earth between 2175 and 2199.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, while there’s a good chance that nothing catastrophic will happen, scientists don’t want to disregard it entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, NASA launched a $1.16 billion mission to essentially prevent the asteroid from colliding with Earth, with space expert Dante Lauretta in command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ MORE: NASA Spacecraft Is Scheduled To Make A Solar \u201cLanding\u201d Attempt<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauretta told Mail Online: “In 2011, NASA gave me a billion bucks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The mission would come to entail not only sending a spacecraft to the asteroid but bringing a piece of it back to Earth.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In 2016, NASA launched the OSIRIS-REx probe to Bennu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It arrived to the asteroid in 2018 and took a sample of rocks and dust from its surface in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sample returned to Earth last year, revealing ‘amazing’ discoveries from a ‘hazardous’ asteroid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the first time a US space mission has collected an asteroid sample.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauretta described it as ‘a chance to evaluate whether we should prepare for disaster’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ MORE: This Is How We Know That NASA Is Accurately Capturing The True Value Of The $10,000,000,000,000,000,000 Asteroid<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what would happen if Bennu collided with Earth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauretta: “In certain ways, the Earth would barely notice such an event: the orbit and axis would remain unaffected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In other respects \u2014 arguably more pertinent ones \u2014 the consequences would be devastating.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact of Bennu’s crash landing would produce a burst “equivalent to 1,450 megatons of TNT,” which is nearly three times as intense as “the total energy expended during all nuclear testing throughout history.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It would create a crater four miles wide and a half mile deep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake would occur, resulting in winds 20 times stronger than a Category 5 hurricane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Near the impact zone,’residential homes would be obliterated, [with] the few surviving chosen by placement and chance luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As if that wasn’t enough, Lauretta added: “The largest rocks that Bennu sent flying would be the size of 16-story buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In the aftermath, power outages, food and water shortages, and communication blackouts would last months as the region remained inaccessible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sounds fun. But with the sample Lauretta and his team were able to acquire, we’ll hopefully have crucial knowledge to avoid any of this from happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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