NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has returned samples from asteroid Bennu, a find that scientists say contains some of the chemical building blocks of life. The American spacecraft collected 122 grams of material in 2020 and sent it back to Earth in 2023. Researchers from around the world have been studying the samples, which may provide clues about how life emerged on our planet.
Two studies published recently suggest that the asteroid material contains a mixture of organic compounds, which are essential for life as we know it. Organic compounds, composed of carbon and other elements, are found in all living things on Earth. The researchers believe that these compounds might have formed elsewhere in the solar system.
The samples also provide evidence that asteroids like Bennu may have transported water and life-supporting chemicals to other planets and moons. Scientists say this suggests that the conditions necessary for life were widespread across the early solar system, increasing the chances that “life could have formed on other planets and moons.”
The parent of Bennu is thought to be an icy body measuring 100 kilometers across. The pieces that broke off likely formed Bennu and other asteroids, which are masses of loose material rather than solid objects.
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate associate administrator Nicky Fox praises the OSIRIS-REx mission, saying it’s “rewriting the textbook on what we understand about the beginnings of our solar system.” Researchers hope the samples will help them understand what ingredients existed in the solar system before life started on Earth.
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