The first asteroid sample brought to Earth may have come from an ancient ocean world, which may have had conditions suitable for life.
Initial analysis, conducted in October, determined that Bennu contained large amounts of water and carbon, and scientists suggested that such asteroids may have provided the building blocks for life on Earth.
Now, researchers from the University of Arizona believes Bennu was part of a water-rich planet that existed billions of years ago.
The team determined that some of the asteroid’s dark rocks are covered by a thin crust of brighter material than has been observed on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which is believed to have a global ocean of liquid salt water.
Researchers at the University of Arizona believe Bennu was part of a water-rich planet that existed billions of years ago.
The team determined that some of the asteroid’s dark rocks are covered by a thin crust of brighter material than has been observed on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which is believed to have a global ocean of liquid salt water.
“My working hypothesis is that this was an ancient ocean world,” said Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona and principal investigator of the mission. new scientist.
He added that the asteroid sample contains structures that could provide clues to the origins of life.
Lauretta has not yet published his hypothesis or findings, but said his analysis of the material in recent months showed that much of the rock is made of clay, including minerals called serpentites.
These materials form on Earth when rock is pushed to the seafloor and exposed to water, creating an exothermic reaction that generates heat.
The team also noticed that a brighter material covered Bennu’s dark rock and Lauretta said it is an extremely rare calcium and magnesium-rich phosphate mineral.
Because the same material is found on Enceladus, scientists have theorized that life may have begun on the icy seafloor.
Fabian Klenner of the University of Washington in Seattle told NewScientist: “There are indeed similarities between the mineralogy of Bennu and what has been found on Enceladus.”
The researchers do not stating that the findings showed that life existed on the planet, but that “the origins of life are an important area of study for these samples.”
The OSIRIS-REx mission deployed in 2016 and landed in Salt Lake City, Utah, in September 2023. The researchers do not claim that the findings prove that life existed on the planet, but that “the origins of life are a big area of study for these samples’
The OSIRIS-REx mission collected samples from the asteroid Bennu which is located about 120 km from Earth
The space agency sent a probe to the 1,250-foot asteroid Bennu in 2020 as part of a historic mission to collect samples.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission returned samples from asteroid Bennu in 2023 after launching to the space rock in 2016.
The space agency sent a probe to the 1,250-foot asteroid Bennu in 2020 as part of a historic mission to collect samples.
The mission brought back about eight ounces of debris, which NASA believes contains building blocks from the dawn of our solar system and could provide clues to understanding how life formed on Earth.
NASA chose to sample Bennu because it is believed to be rich in organic compounds.
Bennu is a remnant of the formation of the solar system, and NASA believes the mission could provide insights into Earth’s history because climate, erosion and plate tectonics have erased all evidence of how Earth formed.
“We are going back to the dawn of the solar system, we are looking for clues as to why Earth is a habitable world, this rare jewel in outer space that has oceans, has a protective atmosphere,” Lauretta said after receiving samples from the OSIRIS mission. -REx in September.
“The biggest question is the origin of life and we think we are recovering that type of material, perhaps the seeds of life that these asteroids brought in the first place.”