Context: As per a recent study, the samples of the asteroid Bennu transported to Earth contain the basic building blocks for life and the salty remains of an ancient water world.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Asteroid Bennu; NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
Major Highlights:
- Scientists studied the material collected from asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in 2020.
- Initial analysis of the sample had already revealed evidence of high-carbon content and water.
- The latest research has found that evaporated water on Bennu's parent asteroid left behind a "briny broth" of salts and minerals. This indicates that Bennu's parent asteroid once had pockets of liquid water.
- The samples contain sodium-rich minerals and confirm the presence of amino acids, nitrogen in the form of ammonia and traces of real extraterrestrial organic material formed in space (and not a result of contamination from Earth).
- More testing is needed to better understand the Bennu samples, as well as more asteroid and comet sample returns.
- Significance: The analysis of the sample suggests a non-terrestrial origin and provides the strongest evidence yet that asteroids may have planted the seeds of life on Earth.
About Asteroid Bennu
- Bennu is a carbon-rich near-Earth small asteroid. It is just little less than 500 metres in depth.
- It is expected to have formed around 65 million years ago, from the debris of a parent asteroid dating back some 4.5 billion years.
- It is classified as a near-Earth object because it passes relatively close to planet Earth, every six years.
- The closest asteroids which travel within 1.3 AU (Astronomical Unit) of the sun are called near-Earth objects.
- 1 AU is approximately equal to 93 million miles - the distance between the Sun and the Earth.
- The samples from Bennu (around 122 grams of dust and pebbles) were brought to Earth in a capsule by the OSIRIS-REx mission in 2023.
About OSIRIS-REx Mission
- Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resources Identification and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS REx) is an asteroid study and sample return mission by NASA.
- The spacecraft set out in 2016 to study asteroid Bennu, and returned to Earth with a sample for detailed analysis in 2023.
- OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer (OSIRIS-APEX): After successfully completing its mission to gather a sample of asteroid Bennu in September 2023, OSIRIS-REx was renamed OSIRIS-APEX. NASA has redirected OSIRIS-REx to track asteroid Apophis.