Material from an asteroid will "come screaming into Earth's atmosphere on Sunday at more than 15 times the speed of a rifle bullet" – but it has all been planned by space scientists, who hope it will answer some of their biggest questions.
Nasa's spacecraft Osiris-Rex will send a small capsule back to Earth carrying a "precious cargo", said BBC News: a "handful" of dust and rock weighing just 250g from a nearby asteroid, Bennu.
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Scientists are also interested "for a more immediately relevant reason": self-preservation. Bennu is regarded by Nasa as one of the most dangerous items in the solar system, with about a 1 in 1,750 chance of it colliding with Earth by 2300. Characterising asteroids would help "work out how a looming impact might be averted".
By the time scientists have analysed the material from Bennu, "it is unlikely that any aspect of its formation, evolution and orbital history, composition and components will be unknown", wrote Monica Grady for The Conversation. This will allow an effective “Earth rescue” mission to be launched.
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