Question: Name the asteroid around which evidence of water, particle and plumes have been discovered recently by space agency NASA?
(a) Bennu
(b) Vesta
(c) Ceres
(d) Pallas
Answer: (a)
Related facts:
- NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) spacecraft, which will return a sample of a near-Earth asteroid named Bennu to Earth in 2023, has recently discovered plumes erupting from the cosmic body’s surface and is among a numerous other findings including evidence of water-bearing minerals.
- Bennu also revealed it to be jagged than expected, challenging the mission team to alter its flight and sample collection plans, due to the rough terrain.
- Bennu is the target of NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (Osiris-REx) mission, which began orbiting the asteroid on 31st December, 2019.
- Bennu, which is only slightly wider than the height of the Empire State Building, may contain unaltered material from the very beginning of our solar system.
Abhinav Mishra