3/4: The Asteroid Hunter: A Scientist’s Journey to the Dawn of our Solar System Hardcover – March 19, 2024 by Dante Lauretta (Author)
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 18 May 2024
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-Hunter-Scientists-Journey-System/dp/1538722941
On September 11, 1999, humanity made a monumental discovery in the vastness of space. Scientists uncovered an asteroid of immense scientific importance—a colossal celestial entity. As massive as an aircraft carrier and towering as high as the iconic Empire State Building, this cosmic titan was later named Bennu. Remarkable for much more than its size, Bennu belonged to a rare breed of asteroids capable of revealing the essence of life itself. But just as Bennu became a beacon of promise, researchers identified a grave danger. Hurtling through space, it threatens to collide with our planet on September 24, 2182.
Leading the expedition was Dr. Dante Lauretta, the Principal Investigator of NASA's audacious OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission. Tasked with unraveling Bennu's mysteries, his team embarked on a daring quest to retrieve a precious sample from the asteroid's surface — one that held the potential to not only unlock the secrets of life's origins but also to avert an unprecedented catastrophe.
A tale of destiny and danger, The Asteroid Hunter chronicles the high-stakes mission firsthand, narrated by Dr. Lauretta. It offers readers an intimate glimpse into the riveting exploits of the mission and Dr. Lauretta's wild, winding personal journey to Bennu and back. Peeling back the curtain on the wonders of the cosmos, this enthralling account promises a rare glimpse into the tightly woven fabric of scientific exploration, where technical precision converges with humanity’s profound curiosity and indominable spirit
1910 Paris
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is the |
| 0:05.0 | CVS I in the world. I'm John Batster visiting with Professor Dante S. Loretta. |
| 0:10.0 | His new book is The Asteroid Hunter, a scientist journey to the dawn of our solar system. |
| 0:16.5 | We are now in space. |
| 0:19.0 | The asteroid Benu is approaching Parahelian, meaning that it's close to the sun, the perfectly |
| 0:28.9 | built Osiris Wreck spacecraft has approached it over a time period in which they count out at the Mike Drake |
| 0:36.6 | building in Arizona. They count each day. |
| 0:39.4 | 438, 437, 436. Well, it's just days left and we're now accompanying Benu. However, there are surprises and one |
| 0:51.3 | surprise is there's no beach. What beach professor? What were you |
| 0:55.7 | looking for? Yeah we mentioned that we discovered the asteroid in 1999 and it |
| 1:01.7 | comes close to the earth every six years. |
| 1:04.0 | So in 2005, when we selected it as our target, |
| 1:07.0 | we performed an unprecedented |
| 1:09.0 | telescopic astronomical campaign. |
| 1:11.0 | And two key instruments that we used were the Eresebo planetary |
| 1:16.3 | radar system which was based in Puerto Rico and the Spitzer Space |
| 1:20.1 | Telescope which is part of NASA's Great Observatories Program. |
| 1:24.0 | Both of those suggested the average size of particles on the surface of the asteroid, |
| 1:29.0 | was smaller than an inch or so. |
| 1:32.0 | And we, when you have two pieces of information that give you the same |
| 1:35.4 | conclusion, you start to build a lot of scientific confidence. And we thought that meant |
| 1:39.7 | it was going to be gravelly or sandy on the surface and very easy to pick up particles. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John Batchelor, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of John Batchelor and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.