United States: NASA has revealed a sample of material collected from the newly returned asteroid Bennu.
Scientists have found evidence of carbon and water in the sample of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. As per NASA, it “may indicate that the building blocks of life are locked within the space rock.”
NASA gave the public a first glimpse of what scientists found inside a sealed capsule. The sample was revealed at a press event at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The capsule was returned to Earth last month after carrying material scooped from the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid’s surface by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
“This is the biggest carbon-rich asteroid sample ever returned to Earth,” NASA administrator Mr. Bill Nelson.
Carbon accounted for almost 5 percent of the sample’s total weight and was present in both organic and mineral form, while the water was locked inside the crystal structure of clay minerals, Mr. Nelson stated.
“This stuff is an astrobiologist’s dream,” said senior NASA scientist, Mr. Daniel Glavin. Early analysis found the material to be “loaded with organics”, he said.
The scientists also suggest that early Earth was hit by comets, asteroids, and meteorites that seeded primordial ingredients for life.
“The secrets held within the rocks and dust from the asteroid will be studied for decades to come, offering insights into how our solar system was formed, how the precursor materials to life may have been seeded on Earth, and what precautions need to be taken to avoid asteroid collisions with our home planet,” NASA said in a statement.
POPULAR | NASA selects Blue Origin to develop Lunar landing system for Artemis V Mission
