Queen guitarist Brian May, who is also an astrophysicist, has helped NASA in its mission to return to Earth rock and dust samples collected by the Osiris Rex probe from the distant asteroid Bennu, reports CNN.

May said he was “extremely proud” to have been part of the team that collected the monsters from the asteroid Bennu.

“Hello, NASA, space fans, asteroid enthusiasts. This is Brian May from Queen, as you probably know, but also extremely proud to be part of the OSIRIS-REx team,” the 76-year-old musician said in a video broadcast on NASA TV on Sunday.

We will remind, on Sunday, around 18.00, rock and dust samples collected by the Osiris Rex probe from the distant asteroid Bennu in 2020 arrived on Earth, in the desert of the American state of Utah.

May played a critical role in the mission, creating stereoscopic images from spacecraft data that allowed mission manager Dante Lauretti and the team to find a safe landing site and collect the sample.

In the clip, May apologized for not being with the team at the big event.

“I repeat the Queen’s tour, but my heart is with you as this precious specimen has been found,” he explained, who congratulated everyone who worked on the mission, as well as Dante.

After landing the sample capsule in Utah, OSIRIS-REx is continuing its journey to study another asteroid called Apophis, the space agency said.

• The Osiris Rex probe will launch on Sunday on a mission to Apophis, an asteroid that was once thought to crash into Earth

Asteroid Bennu was discovered in 1999 and named by a 9-year-old who won the competition in 2013. Bennu is a much friendlier name than “1999 RQ36,” as the 500-meter-wide asteroid used to be called.

• Why asteroid mining is still much closer to science fiction than reality

Thanks to the Osiris Rex probe, which spent several years orbiting Bennu and took samples from it in 2020, we know a lot about this “space boulder” that approaches Earth on its celestial path once every six years.

The trajectory of the asteroid before and after 2135 could be calculated with amazing accuracy, so it was also possible to calculate the probability that Bennu would hit somewhere on Earth on September 24, 2182. The probability is 1 in 2700. In 2021, a large-scale study appeared on Bennu.

• “These samples are a treasure” – When we learn the first data about the rocks brought from the asteroid Bennu

If Bennu were to collide with Earth, it is estimated that a crater with a diameter of 5-10 km would be formed, and the devastated area could be 100 times the size of the crater.

See also “Shock, the Earth will be destroyed!” – Asteroid Bennu and the exaggerated fear that this giant “boulder” will wreak havoc on Earth