NASA: Bennu asteroid samples contain water, carbon and organic 'building blocks of life'

Doug Cunningham
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On Wednesday NASA unveiled the Bennu asteroid sample taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Initial results revealed water, carbon, sulfur and iron - major building blocks of life. NASA Photo by Keegan Barber/UPI
On Wednesday NASA unveiled the Bennu asteroid sample taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Initial results revealed water, carbon, sulfur and iron - major building blocks of life. NASA Photo by Keegan Barber/UPI

Oct. 11 (UPI) -- NASA said Wednesday that Bennu asteroid samples collected by the OSIRIS-Rex mission contain water, carbon and organic molecules -- the building blocks of life.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said it's an exciting discovery, with the initial analysis of the material showing abundant carbon.

"At nearly 5% carbon by weight, carbon being the central element of life, far exceeding our goals of 60 grams. This is the largest carbon-rich asteroid sample ever returned to Earth," Nelson said. "First analysis shows samples that contain abundant water in the form of hydrated clay minerals, minerals and carbon."

He said knowledge gained from this asteroid sample will "help us protect our planet."

On Sept. 24, NASA recovered a 250-gram dust sample from the Bennu asteroid, marking the first sample return of its kind in America and concluding the seven-year OSIRIS-REx mission. NASA Photo by Keegan Barber/UPI
On Sept. 24, NASA recovered a 250-gram dust sample from the Bennu asteroid, marking the first sample return of its kind in America and concluding the seven-year OSIRIS-REx mission. NASA Photo by Keegan Barber/UPI

Nelson said research from these samples, now and in the future, will provide insights into the origins of the universe.

"We are going to have answers to questions that we don't even know what the questions are now," Nelson said. "We are glimpsing the early part of the development of this magnificent thing called the universe."

The spacecraft that collected the asteroid sample was launched in 2016 and traveled an estimated 3.86 billion miles before it first landed on the Bennu asteroid in 2020. File Photo by NASA/UPI
The spacecraft that collected the asteroid sample was launched in 2016 and traveled an estimated 3.86 billion miles before it first landed on the Bennu asteroid in 2020. File Photo by NASA/UPI

Dr. Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator, described the discovery as a "scientific treasure."

"To see this dream coming true today is beyond words for me," Lauretta said.

This photo released by NASA shows the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector. Sample material from asteroid Bennu can be seen at the middle right. A preliminary assessment conducted by NASA's OSIRIS-REx science team found evidence of both carbon and water in the initial analysis of this material. NASA Photo by Erika Blumenfeld and Joseph Aebersold

He said under electron microscopes, fine details of the composition of the asteroid samples revealed water-bearing clay minerals with fibrous structure that have water locked inside their crystal surface.

"These molecules landed on earth billions of years ago to make life possible," Dr. Lauretta said.

He said a sulfur mineral and iron oxide minerals called magnetite were also found. Sulfur is a critical element for planet evolution and he said these minerals may have played essential roles in life on Earth.

Daniel Glavin, OSIRIS-REx sample analysis lead, said these samples contain the "highest abundance of carbon ever measured in any extra-terrestrial sample."

"We're just literally scratching the surface of what's in this material," Glavin said.

He said as research on these samples continues scientists will learn much more about the solar system and how life started here on Earth.

"Within our NASA planetary program we actually have almost 40 missions that are exploring the solar system. Seven of those mission are focused on understanding asteroids...so important for understanding the origin of our solar system," NASA's Lori Glaze, NASA Planetary Directorate Science Division Director, said.

She said a mission set for Nov. 1 will examine a set of asteroids called the Trojan asteroids, while a mission scheduled for Thursday launch will visit a unique metal asteroid.

"These samples can give us different parts of the story about where we came from," Glaze said.

On Sept. 24, NASA recovered a 250-gram dust sample from the Bennu asteroid, marking the first sample return of its kind in America and concluding the seven-year OSIRIS-REx mission.

The sample has since been kept under a "nitrogen purge," connected to a continuous flow of nitrogen to keep it pure of "earthly contaminants."

"Bennu is a potentially hazardous asteroid, and what we learn from the sample will help us better understand the types of asteroids that could come our way," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said when the sample was recovered.

The spacecraft that collected the asteroid sample was launched in 2016 and traveled an estimated 3.86 billion miles before it first landed on the Bennu asteroid in 2020.

OSIRIS-REx travels next to the asteroid Apophis.

The Johnson Space Center is home to the world's largest collection of astromaterials under one roof. It includes samples from Mars, the moon, sun, asteroids and comets.