Building blocks of life discovered in asteroid samples

• NASA’s robotic OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected samples from Bennu, a near-earth asteroid, in 2020.

• The samples were delivered to Earth in 2023 by a parachute in a capsule released by OSIRIS-REx.

• Two analyses of the samples were published on January 29.

• The samples contained a diverse mixture of organic compounds and minerals formed when salty water evaporated on Bennu’s parent body.

• The samples contained 14 of the 20 amino acids, which make proteins, and all five nucleobases, the genetic components of DNA and RNA in all life on Earth.

• The findings support the theory that asteroids and their fragments seeded early earth with the raw ingredients that led to the emergence of life.

• The Bennu organic compounds have been previously identified in meteorites that have landed on the earth, but these could have been contaminated by terrestrial sources.

• The samples were obtained directly from an asteroid and were kept pristine.