NASA as soon as paid a person a whopping $1 billion to cease a doubtlessly devastating asteroid from hitting Earth.With a diameter in regards to the peak of the Empire State Constructing, Bennu is a rock to not be messed with.The asteroid is made up up of rocks sure collectively by gravity.It’s the most harmful identified ‘doubtlessly hazardous’ asteroid – that means it comes inside about 4.6 million miles of Earth’s orbit.Consultants have since decided there is a 1-in-2,700 likelihood that Bennu will influence Earth between the years of 2175 and 2199.So whereas that is pretty good odds nothing catastrophic will occur, scientists undoubtedly do not wish to ignore it fully.Bennu grew to become a trigger for concern. Credit score: NASA/Goddard/College of ArizonaAs a consequence, NASA launched a $1.16 billion mission to basically cease the asteroid from crashing into Earth, with area knowledgeable Dante Lauretta on the helm.Lauretta informed Mail On-line: “In 2011, NASA awarded me a billion {dollars}.”The mission would come to ivolve not solely sending a spacecraft to the asteroid however bringing a bit of it again to Earth.”In 2016, NASA launched its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to journey to Bennu.It arrived on the asteroid in 2018, and picked up a pattern of rocks and dirt from the floor in 2020.It was the primary ever US area mission to gather a pattern from an asteroid.Lauretta mentioned it was ‘an opportunity to find out whether or not we must always put together for catastrophe’.However what would occur if Bennu crashed into Earth?Lauretta: “In some respects, the Earth would hardly register such an occasion: the orbit and axis would stay unperturbed.”In different respects — arguably extra pertinent ones — the results could be devastating.”Dante Lauretta (Left) was paid a $1 billion to cease the asteroid. Credit score: Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle through Getty ImagesThe influence of Bennu crash touchdown would create a blast ‘equal to 1,450 megatons of TNT’, nearly 3 times as highly effective as ‘the overall vitality expended throughout all nuclear testing all through historical past’.It could go away a crater 4 miles broad and half a mile deep.In the meantime, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 could be triggered, and it might create winds 20 occasions extra highly effective than a Class 5 hurricane.Close to the influence zone, ‘residential houses could be flattened, [and] the few survivors decided by location and random luck’.And if that wasn’t sufficient, Lauretta mentioned: “The biggest rocks that Bennu despatched flying could be the scale of 16-story buildings.”Within the aftermath, energy outages, meals and water shortages, and communication blackouts would final months because the area remained inaccessible.”Sounds enjoyable. However with the pattern Lauretta and his crew managed to gather, we’ll hopefully possess invaluable data to stop any of this from occurring.