WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists analyzing samples from asteroid Bennu have discovered key chemical components essential for life, strengthening the theory that asteroids may have seeded early Earth with the ingredients for life.
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected rock and dust from Bennu in 2020 and delivered them to Earth in 2023. Recent studies published in Nature Astronomy and Nature reveal that these samples contain organic compounds, including amino acids and nucleobases—the fundamental elements of proteins and genetic material.
These findings suggest that the parent body of Bennu, which formed around 4.5 billion years ago, hosted a wet environment where prebiotic chemistry could have occurred. Scientists believe such discoveries increase the likelihood that life’s building blocks exist beyond Earth.
Although the samples do not contain DNA or RNA, they offer pristine evidence of organic materials originating in space, untouched by Earth’s contamination. This reinforces the idea that asteroids played a role in the emergence of life on our planet.