Question 1

True or false: NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission collected a sample from Bennu in 2020 and returned it to Earth in 2023.

Accepted Answer

True. OSIRIS-REx successfully grabbed 121.6 grams of regolith from Bennu in 2020, and the sample capsule landed in Utah in September 2023.

Question 2

True or false: Bennu was discovered in 1999 by a telescope in New Mexico.

Accepted Answer

True. Bennu was discovered on September 11, 1999, by the LINEAR survey telescope in Socorro, New Mexico.

Question 3

True or false: Bennu is smaller than the Empire State Building but larger than a football field.

Accepted Answer

True. Bennu is about 500 meters (1,640 feet) wide—roughly the height of the Empire State Building, but much wider than a football field.

Question 4

True or false: Bennu is a carbonaceous asteroid that may contain the building blocks of life.

Accepted Answer

True. Bennu is a B-type asteroid rich in carbon and organic compounds, making it a pristine sample of early solar system material.

Question 5

True or false: Bennu’s surface is mostly smooth and sandy, like a beach.

Accepted Answer

False. Bennu's surface is extremely rocky and rugged, covered with boulders—surprising scientists who expected a smoother terrain.

Question 6

True or false: Bennu has a tiny chance of hitting Earth in the late 2100s, around 2182.

Accepted Answer

True. Bennu has a 1-in-2,700 chance of impacting Earth in September 2182, making it one of the most hazardous known asteroids.

Question 7

True or false: Bennu is believed to be a fragment of a much larger planet that broke apart billions of years ago.

Accepted Answer

False. Bennu likely originated from a larger parent asteroid in the main belt, not a planet, after a collision billions of years ago.

Question 8

True or false: Bennu is named after an ancient Egyptian god of creation and rebirth.

Accepted Answer

False. Bennu is named after an Egyptian mythological bird, often associated with the sun and rebirth, not a god of creation per se.

Bennu Trivia Questions