CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Scientists analyzing asteroid samples retrieved by NASA have confirmed that these cosmic remnants contain the building blocks of life, along with traces of an ancient water world, strengthening the theory that asteroids may have played a crucial role in seeding life on Earth.
NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected 122 grams (4 ounces) of dust and pebbles from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, successfully delivering the sample canister to the Utah desert in 2023 before exploring another space rock. This marks the largest extraterrestrial sample haul beyond the Moon, surpassing the previous missions conducted by Japan, which yielded significantly smaller samples.
The newly published studies in the journals Nature and Nature Astronomy reveal that Bennu’s samples contain sodium-rich minerals, amino acids, and nitrogen in the form of ammonia—key ingredients in the formation of life. These discoveries suggest that the parent body of Bennu, a larger asteroid that was later fragmented, may have had an extensive underground network of lakes or even oceans before its water evaporated, leaving behind salty deposits.
“That’s the kind of environment that could have been essential to the steps that lead from elements to life,” said Tim McCoy, a meteorite curator at the Smithsonian Institution and one of the lead study authors.
One of the most unexpected findings, according to NASA’s Daniel Glavin, was the high concentration of nitrogen, including ammonia. While similar organic molecules have been detected in meteorites before, the Bennu samples are significant because they were collected directly from the asteroid and carefully preserved, eliminating the possibility of contamination from Earth.
“This discovery was only possible by analyzing samples collected directly from the asteroid and then carefully preserved back on Earth,” noted Yasuhito Sekine of the Institute of Science Tokyo in an accompanying editorial.
McCoy emphasized that the combination of organic materials and sodium-rich salt water, or brines, could be “the pathway to life.” He added, “These processes probably occurred much earlier and were much more widespread than we had thought before.”
The Bennu samples, which date back 4.5 billion years to the formation of the solar system, are currently being analyzed by 60 research laboratories worldwide. The University of Arizona’s Dante Lauretta, the Osiris-Rex mission’s chief scientist, noted that while much of the sample has been set aside for future studies, these initial findings highlight the need for further asteroid and comet sample-return missions.
China is preparing to launch its own asteroid sample-return mission this year, while many scientists advocate for a future mission to the potentially water-rich dwarf planet Ceres in the main asteroid belt. Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus, both of which are believed to harbor subsurface oceans, are also key targets for exploration. Meanwhile, NASA is still determining the best and most cost-effective way to retrieve core samples from Mars, which remain on the planet awaiting transport.
As the search for extraterrestrial life continues, McCoy posed the fundamental question driving these efforts: “Are we alone?”
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- Gary P Hernalhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
- Gary P Hernalhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
- Gary P Hernalhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
- Gary P Hernalhttps://tutubi.ph/author/gary-hernal/
