Dangerous Space
This is the text version of the interactive 3D documentary. 한국어
Danger ranking › Impact threats
Bennu
Impact threats #2 · A possible impact between 2178 and 2290 — the asteroid whose orbit we know best
View in 3D- Name
- 101955 Bennu
- Type
- Near-Earth asteroid
- Size
- About 490 m across
- Distance
- 330 million km from Earth · light takes 18 min 29 s (Position on 2026-11-04 · JPL Horizons)
#2 of 2,230 on NASA/JPL’s Sentry risk table · as of 2026-11-04
The story in 2 scenes
The asteroid we brought a piece of home
In October 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft touched Bennu’s surface for a few seconds and scooped up rocks and dust. On 24 September 2023 the sample capsule landed in the Utah desert.
Why?Bennu is thought to hold material that has barely changed since the solar system formed. Its orbit also brings it near Earth, which made the trip there and back easier.
What nextThe sample contained organic compounds — the kind of ingredients life is built from. The spacecraft was renamed OSIRIS-APEX and is now heading for Apophis, arriving in 2029.
See this scene in 3D →Known so well, a small chance remains
Because the spacecraft followed Bennu up close for more than two years, its orbit is the most precisely known of any asteroid. The total chance of an impact between 2178 and 2290 is about 1 in 1,700, and the most likely date is September 2182.
Why?When Bennu passes Earth in 2135, Earth’s gravity will bend its path. How much it bends decides whether a later impact is possible.
What nextAn impact by a 490 m object could devastate a whole region. In 2022, NASA’s DART mission showed that we can change an asteroid’s orbit by crashing a spacecraft into it.
See this scene in 3D →Sources
NASA/JPL CNEOS Sentry impact risk table · JPL Small-Body Database: 101955 · Wikipedia: 101955 Bennu · NASA: OSIRIS-REx
Impact-threat rankings and probabilities follow NASA/JPL’s Sentry risk table (as of 2026-11-04). The other categories are editorial rankings using the published criteria. Distances to stars can carry large uncertainties.