Craters, boulders and regolith of (101955) Bennu indicative of an old and dynamic surface

Small, kilometre-sized near-Earth asteroidsare expected to have young and frequently refreshed surfaces for two reasons: collisional disruptions are frequent in the main asteroid beltwhere they originate, and thermal or tidal processes act on them once they become near-Earth asteroids. Here we present early measurements of numerous large candidate impact craterson near-Earth asteroid(101955) Bennu by the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security- RegolithExplorer) mission, which indicate a surface that is between 100 million and 1 billion yearsold, predating Bennu’s expected duration as a near-Earth asteroid. We also observe many fractured boulders, the morphology of which suggests an influence of impact or thermal processes over a considerable amount of time since the boulders were exposed at the surface. However, the surface also shows signs of more recent mass movement: clusters of boulders at topographic lows, a deficiency of small craters and infillof large craters. The oldest features likely record events from Bennu’s time in the main asteroid belt.