Overview
- Peer‑reviewed analyses report ribose and, for the first time in an extraterrestrial sample, glucose within Bennu material.
- NASA confirms the presence of nucleobases, phosphates and amino acids, completing the set of components needed to assemble RNA and DNA.
- Researchers identify an unusual flexible organic substance—described as a rubbery, translucent “space gum”—preserved from Bennu’s parent body.
- A separate study finds presolar grains at roughly six times the abundance measured in other astromaterials, consistent with formation in a supernova‑enriched region.
- OSIRIS‑REx’s sealed collection and careful curation validate an extraterrestrial origin for these compounds, and scientists emphasize they are building blocks rather than evidence of life.