- Two groundbreaking new research studies recently disclosed the vital elements contained within a 4.3-ounce sample of asteroid Bennu.
- The OSIRIS-REx mission brought the returned sample back to Earth in September 2023, and the studies reveal that it is composed of key components essential for life, including amino acids, the building blocks of nucleic acids like DNA and RNA, and minerals called evaporites, which are minerals created through the evaporation of water.
- According to the research, the Solar System was likely much more hospitable to life hundreds of millions of years ago than had been thought.
A gigantic asteroid hurtled past the planet where Earth’s ape-like ancestors would eventually roam. Approximately one or two billion years ago, it shattered into fragments in the Asteroid Belt, eventually releasing a piece of rock that the inhabitants of Earth, now human, would come to name “Bennu” later on.
Crashed landed in the desert of Utah.
Scientists from all over the world have confirmed that NASA’s discovery is a rich source of the fundamental components of life. In a press announcement, NASA officially stated that they have not found evidence of life, but the discovery of amino acids, nucleobases, and minerals referred to as “evaporites” indicates that life-sustaining conditions existed extensively throughout the early Solar System.
.”
The DNA and RNA molecules contain nucleobases, which serve as the building blocks for storing and relaying genetic information, and trace amounts of ammonia, which are beneficial in forming essential amino acids.
Water containing dissolved salts evaporates, often forming what is known as “evaporites”.
in meteorites that have been on Earth for decades to centuries
While the specific arrangement of amino acids in proteins, particularly the predominance of right-handedness, remains an unsolved enigma, scientists continue to investigate and may ultimately uncover the underlying reasons for this phenomenon as their research data accumulates.
As stated in a recent press release, “The enigma of why we’ve yet to see life beyond our planet while it appears to thrive here on Earth is a truly captivating mystery.”
