101955 Bennu

Bennu is a carbonaceous asteroid in the Apollo group discovered by the LINEAR Project on September 11, 1999. It is a near-Earth object and a potentially hazardous asteroid, with a diameter of approximately 492 meters (1,614 ft). The asteroid is named after the Bennu, a mythological bird associated with the Sun and creation, which is a counterpart to the phoenix in Egyptian mythology. In Hebrew, the asteroid is referred to as Bennu (בנו). In Japanese, it is known as Bennu (ベヌ), and in Spanish, it is called Bennu. Bennu is of particular interest to scientists because it is believed to be a remnant from the early solar system and may contain organic molecules that could have seeded life on Earth. The OSIRIS-REx mission, launched by NASA in 2016, is currently studying Bennu and will return samples from the asteroid to Earth for further analysis. The mission aims to help scientists understand the origins of the solar system and the potential for life elsewhere in the universe.