A schoolboy in a naming contest

Bennu Quiz: OSIRIS-REx and the Asteroid Sample Return

A capsule streaked into the Utah desert in September 2023 carrying the largest asteroid sample ever returned, and this Bennu quiz tells the story of the mission. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on OSIRIS-REx, the 2016 launch, Bennu's spinning-top shape, the Nightingale site, the 2020 touch-and-go, the landing in Utah, amino acids in the sample, its naming and OSIRIS-APEX.

Start Bennu Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Mission
Which NASA mission sampled Bennu?
Type
What kind of object is Bennu?
Shape
What shape does Bennu resemble?
Size
Roughly how wide is Bennu?
Site
What was the sampling site called?
TAG
When did OSIRIS-REx collect its sample?
Landing
Where did the sample capsule land in 2023?
Mass
Roughly how much material was returned?
Name
Who named Bennu?
Next
What is the spacecraft's new mission called?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which NASA mission sampled Bennu?
Answer: OSIRIS-REx
It launched in 2016.
Q2: What kind of object is Bennu?
Answer: A near-Earth asteroid
It is a carbon-rich rubble pile.
Q3: What shape does Bennu resemble?
Answer: A spinning top
Its equator bulges.
Q4: Roughly how wide is Bennu?
Answer: About 500 meters
It is about as tall as a skyscraper.
Q5: What was the sampling site called?
Answer: Nightingale
Osprey was the backup site.
Q6: When did OSIRIS-REx collect its sample?
Answer: October 2020
The touch lasted only seconds.
Q7: Where did the sample capsule land in 2023?
Answer: The Utah desert
It landed by parachute.
Q8: Roughly how much material was returned?
Answer: About 120 grams
It is the largest asteroid sample yet.
Q9: Who named Bennu?
Answer: A schoolboy in a naming contest
It is named after an Egyptian bird deity.
Q10: What is the spacecraft's new mission called?
Answer: OSIRIS-APEX
It will study Apophis in 2029.

Bennu Quiz – OSIRIS-REx and the Asteroid Sample Return

Bennu is a carbon-rich near-Earth asteroid about 500 meters wide, shaped like a spinning top. A schoolboy named it in a contest after an ancient Egyptian bird deity.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx launched in 2016 and reached Bennu in 2018. In October 2020 it briefly touched the Nightingale site, firing gas to stir up material, and collected rocks and dust. The surface proved so loose that the spacecraft sank in slightly.

The sample capsule landed in the Utah desert in September 2023, carrying about 120 grams, the largest asteroid sample ever returned. Scientists found water-bearing minerals and amino acids. The spacecraft, renamed OSIRIS-APEX, is heading to asteroid Apophis.

What This Quiz Teaches

Space fans and students will enjoy these questions.

What Bennu is
How the mission worked
Where the sample landed
What scientists found
What comes next

Did You Know?

Bennu ejects small particles into space.
It has a small chance of hitting Earth in the 2180s.
The sample lid was hard to open at first.
Japan's Hayabusa2 sampled asteroid Ryugu.
Apophis will pass close to Earth in 2029.