101955 Bennu

Bennu is a giant space rock, also called an asteroid. It's shaped like a spinning top and is about as wide as five football fields put together! It zooms around in space, far, far away from us.

It's made of dark, dusty stuff, like a giant, ancient cookie. Scientists are super interested in Bennu because it's one of the oldest things in our solar system, like a time capsule from when planets were just forming.

Bennu didn't always live in its current spot. It was once part of a much bigger asteroid that broke apart a super long time ago, maybe even before the dinosaurs lived on Earth! It's been wandering through space for millions of years. Scientists found Bennu in 1999, which isn't that long ago for a space rock. It's named after an ancient Egyptian bird that was linked to the sun and creation.

Bennu is special because it's a 'potentially hazardous object.' This means it has a tiny, tiny chance of bumping into Earth way, way in the future, like in the year 2182. Don't worry, it's a very small chance! Scientists also sent a special spaceship called OSIRIS-REx to visit Bennu. It landed on the asteroid and even grabbed a little piece of it to bring back to Earth for us to study!

The OSIRIS-REx spaceship had a very important job. It traveled all the way to Bennu, which took two years! Once it got there, it took amazing pictures and figured out the best place to land.

Then, it gently touched Bennu and scooped up some of its dusty surface. This sample traveled back to Earth and landed in 2023. Scientists are now studying this piece of Bennu to learn more about our solar system's beginnings.