The OSIRIS-REx mission is en route back from asteroid NASA has launched several missions to various asteroids, all of which hope to reveal new information about Earth's origins, resource extraction, and how to avoid potentially catastrophic collisions with our planet.

Asteroids have been of interest for many reasons, but partly because of their similarities to planets. Asteroids orbit the sun like planets and have many of the same constituent components as planets. Importantly, too, asteroids are artifacts of the earliest days of the solar system and can function as time capsules of sorts. Regardless of these similarities, however, asteroids can be vastly different. The three broad composition classes of asteroids are C-types (made of clay and silicate rocks), S-types (stony and made mostly of silicate materials and nickel-iron), and M-types (metallic). Finally, Psyche, an M-class asteroid, is believed to contain heavy metals worth perhaps as much as $10 quintillion.

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According to the like NASA's Lucy mission, the sample collected on Bennu may allow scientists to study the materials that gave rise to life on Earth in something closely resembling their original state.

One Of The Most Hazardous Asteroids

While Bennu may teach scientists about the origins of Earth, it also poses a significant threat to our planet. The odds of Bennu colliding with Earth over the next 300 years are one in 1,750, which puts Bennu in the top-two most hazardous known objects in our solar system. Of course, there's no need to panic, as Bennu is unlikely to cause total planetary extinction, it would cause a great deal of destruction if it did hit Earth. Current estimates suggest the most likely day of impact is Sept. 24, 2182, though that date will be updated and possibly revised as it approaches. The OSIRIS-REx team's data will help experts understand how best to redirect the asteroid's path should intervention be necessary to avoid that being a terrible day.