Bennu in 3D

Turn the shape NASA built from OSIRIS-REx's laser measurements of asteroid Bennu. It shows the asteroid's form and size. It does not show what Bennu is made of.

Asteroid Bennu, a grey, diamond-shaped rubble pile scattered with boulders, lit from one side against black space. — Shape: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, Asteroid Bennu 3D Models (2023), from OSIRIS-REx laser altimeter data. Data provided by NASA/University of Arizona/CSA/York University/MDA. Reduced for this page by SpaceMiningData; the reduction is ours, not NASA's.

The shape file is about 1.4 MB. Opening the 3D view also downloads viewer code. Drag to turn it. On a touch screen, use two fingers to turn and zoom and one to scroll the page.

What this shape shows, and what it does not

The shape

NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio built this shape from data OSIRIS-REx collected while in orbit around Bennu. Its global model has 3.4 million polygons and was described by Daly and others in 2020. Source: Asteroid Bennu 3D Models

Top and side refer to this model's display axes. This page does not identify north or establish the asteroid's spin axis.

Measured along this model's fixed axes, its spans are about 567 × 546 × 499 m.

This copy contains 119,991 triangles, with an average edge length of about 4.3 m. The 16 m sample-site diameter is roughly 4 average edge lengths. These measurements do not establish the smallest surface features represented accurately.

Where the sample came from

NASA describes site Nightingale as a rocky area 16 m (52 ft) across in Bennu's northern hemisphere, in a relatively clear patch just above a crater's centre. Source: NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Begins its Countdown to TAG · NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Produces Nightingale Mosaic

This view does not mark the site. The official pages read for it give no coordinates, and a marker placed by eye would look more exact than it is.

The sample site before and after the touch, in 3D, from NASA's models of that ground.

What the sample showed

OSIRIS-REx delivered 121.6 grams of material from Bennu to Earth on 24 September 2023. NASA's initial analysis reported high carbon content and water-bearing clay minerals.

Those are findings about the returned material. The shape here is plain grey: nothing on it is coloured by composition, and it does not show how much carbon or water Bennu holds. This scientific sample return does not demonstrate commercial resource extraction.

OSIRIS-REx mission record

Three asteroids at one scale

Three grey asteroid shapes in a row against black space, drawn at the same scale: Ryugu, large and diamond-shaped; Bennu, about half as wide and also diamond-shaped; and Apophis, smaller, lumpier and smoother. — Left to right: Ryugu, about 1,019 m across; Bennu, about 567 m across; Apophis, about 410 m across. One scale and one light for all three. Apophis's shape is a preliminary radar model, so it shows far less surface detail than the other two. Shapes: Ryugu from ISAS/JAXA (Watanabe and others, 2019; University of Aizu, JAXA & collaborators); Bennu from NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, OSIRIS-REx data (NASA/University of Arizona/CSA/York University/MDA); Apophis from Lawrence and Benner (2026), NASA Planetary Data System, a preliminary radar model. Converted to metres and rendered together by SpaceMiningData; the pictures are ours.

Sources and credit

Asteroid Bennu 3D Models, NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, 2023-02-09
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Begins its Countdown to TAG, NASA
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Produces Nightingale Mosaic, NASA
NASA Images and Media Usage Guidelines, NASA

Everything in 3D · Where the asteroids are, in 3D · Asteroid targets · Has anyone delivered a resource?