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Michael Puzio
Winner of the contest to name asteroid Bennu
With his suggestion of the name "Bennu," Michael Puzio, at age 9, was the winner of the Name That Asteroid! Contest.
Justification for the name: "Bennu was a large heron and the living symbol of Osiris. The winged OSIRIS-REx and its heron-like TAGSAM also evoke attributes of Bennu, as does the egg shape of the asteroid itself. Bennu means 'The Ascending One', 'to shine' and suits the NEO which will shine in our skies in 2023 at the return of OSIRIS-REx."
What do you want to see next in space? "Fly a million more missions, to go to other galaxies, and to send astronauts to Mars!!"
Latest Planetary Radio Appearances
Celebrating the OSIRIS-REx sample return
We celebrate NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission’s successful return of samples from asteroid Bennu to Earth on this week’s episode of Planetary Radio.