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2mo ago

NASA's Asteroid Sample Reveals Building Blocks of Life and Ancient Water Evidence

The OSIRIS-REx mission's Bennu samples uncover amino acids, nitrogen compounds, and salt minerals pointing to life-friendly environments in space.

The burial site at the Montelirio tomb in southwestern Spain contained more than 270,000 shell beads.
Image
Rob Wardell (left) and Dr. Tim McCoy from the department of mineral sciences at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, place a sample of the asteroid Bennu into a Thermo Fisher FEI Quattro Analytical Scanning Electron Microscope for analysis.
The Mount Lyell shrew previously was the only known mammal species in California not to have been photographed.

Overview

  • NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission returned 122 grams of material from the asteroid Bennu, marking the largest asteroid sample ever collected and studied on Earth.
  • Scientists identified amino acids, nitrogen in the form of ammonia, and components of DNA, confirming extraterrestrial organic material formed in space.
  • The samples contain sodium-rich salts and minerals, suggesting Bennu's parent body once had extensive underground lakes or oceans that evaporated over time.
  • These findings strengthen the theory that asteroids like Bennu may have delivered the chemical precursors of life to Earth and other celestial bodies.
  • Further analysis of the Bennu samples is ongoing, with most of the material preserved for future research to deepen understanding of the origins of life.