Tag: near earth asteroids

NASA’s DART Probe Ready for Launch on First Planetary Defense Test Mission: Watch Live

For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  Hearkening back to a Hollywood like thriller NASA is on the cusp of launching DART – the agency’s first ever Planetary Defense mission purposefully directed towards a near Earth binary asteroid system with a kinetic impactor to determine if its trajectory can be altered and deflected and thereby simulate saving  Earth and

OSIRIS-REx Snaps Parting Shot of Bennu Departs for Earth with Treasure Trove of Primordial Asteroid Samples

For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – NASA’s bold and wildly successful OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successful fired up its main engine for seven minutes Monday afternoon, May 10, to bid adieu and depart Asteroid Bennu placing the probe on a trajectory heading for a return to Earth in 2023 and delivery of a treasure trove of pristine primordial asteroid material