Bennu Asteroid Pattern Reveals Natural Compounds That Could Trace at Life Past Earth

A pattern from asteroid Bennu, delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in 2023, has revealed a set of molecules and minerals that play a basic function in organic processes. Natural compounds resembling amino acids, nucleobases, and ammonia, together with minerals shaped in saltwater, have been recognized. The findings recommend that the required circumstances for all times might have been current in varied areas of the early photo voltaic system, elevating the chance that life might have developed past Earth.

Key Findings from the Examine

In response to the examine printed in Nature and Nature Astronomy, 14 of the 20 amino acids important for protein formation and all 5 nucleobases present in DNA and RNA had been detected within the Bennu samples. The presence of ammonia and formaldehyde was additionally famous, each of that are vital within the formation of advanced natural molecules. These compounds, beforehand recognized in meteorites, had been present in an uncontaminated pattern collected straight from house, reinforcing the concept asteroid materials might have contributed to the emergence of life’s constructing blocks.

As reported by NASA, Danny Glavin, senior pattern scientist at NASA’s Goddard House Flight Heart and co-lead writer of the Nature Astronomy paper, said that the pristine nature of the Bennu pattern allowed researchers to detect compounds that may have been simply altered or destroyed upon publicity to Earth’s surroundings.

Traces of Water and Historical Chemistry

Mineral evaluation of the pattern revealed the presence of evaporite minerals resembling calcite, halite, and sylvite—indicative of extended water exercise. The examine, led by Tim McCoy of the Smithsonian’s Nationwide Museum of Pure Historical past and Sara Russell of the Pure Historical past Museum in London, means that these minerals shaped as saltwater evaporated over time. Related brines have been noticed on celestial our bodies resembling Ceres and Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

McCoy famous that whereas evaporites have been present in meteorites, that is the primary time an entire mineral set preserving an prolonged evaporation course of has been recognized in extraterrestrial materials. The invention of trona, a mineral by no means beforehand noticed in samples from house, provides additional significance to the findings.

Unanswered Questions and Future Analysis

One of many key questions that stay is why amino acids on Earth predominantly exhibit a left-handed molecular orientation, whereas the Bennu samples contained an equal combination of left- and right-handed varieties. Jason Dworkin, challenge scientist for OSIRIS-REx and co-lead writer of the Nature Astronomy paper, identified that the information contributes to a broader understanding of the photo voltaic system’s chemistry however leaves open the query of why life has solely been noticed on Earth to date.

The OSIRIS-REx mission, managed by NASA’s Goddard House Flight Heart, was a collaborative effort involving a number of establishments, together with the College of Arizona, Lockheed Martin House, and worldwide companions such because the Canadian House Company and Japan’s JAXA. The pattern continues to be studied at NASA’s Johnson House Heart, the place additional analysis is predicted to supply extra insights into the origins of life’s important parts.