The first analyzes of the sample from the asteroid Bennu, which NASA brought to Earth last month, demonstrate a high carbon and water content. “They could indicate that the basic components of life on Earth can be found in rock,” NASA said this Wednesday, after a group of scientists and leaders of the OSIRIS-REx mission showed the material for the first time at an event from its Johnson Space Center in Houston.
It’s historical: This is the largest sample of an asteroid brought to our planet. OSIRI-Rex took off in 2016 and traveled 3 billion kilometers to reach Bennu, an asteroid discovered in 1999. It took two years to arrive, spent three years orbiting the asteroid, and then flew two more years to bring a portion back to Earth.
The OSIRIS-REx sample “will help scientists investigate the origins of life on our own planet for generations to come,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Almost everything we do at NASA seeks to answer questions about who we are and where we come from.”
The initial goal of OSIRIS-REx collection was 60 grams of asteroid material. NASA has not clarified the exact amount of what was collected, but it was estimated that there were about 250 grams of content inside the capsule. “There was so much extra material that it slowed down the careful process of collecting and containing the sample”the agency said in a release.
“The abundance of carbon-rich material and the abundant presence of aquifer clay minerals are just the tip of the cosmic iceberg,” said Dante Lauretta, principal investigator of OSIRIS-REx. “We are unlocking a time capsule that gives us deep insights into the origins of our solar system.”
OSIRIS-REx sample analysis is just beginning
Conservation experts at NASA’s Johnson, working in new laboratories designed for the mission, spent 10 days disassembling the hardware of the capsule containing the sample. When the canister lid was first opened, scientists discovered “dark dust and sand-sized particles” covering the outside of the collector head, canister lid, and base.
The asteroid Bennu is estimated to contain remains from the formation of the solar system that They date back 4.5 billion years. Therefore, it can help understand how the Earth was created and how life emerged on it.
In these first weeks, scientists carried out a “quick look” evaluation of the sample. They recorded images through a scanning electron microscope, infrared measurements and analyzed chemical elements. They also performed an X-ray CT scan to produce a 3D computer model of one of the particles, revealing its diverse interior. This was what provided evidence of abundant carbon and water in the sample.
More analyzes are still needed to understand the nature of the carbon compounds found. NASA, however, highlights that this initial discovery bodes well.
In addition to revealing clues about the origin of life, Samples collected by OSIRIS-REx could help identify how to deflect this asteroid. Because scientists estimate that Bennu could get so close to Earth that he could impact the planet in about 159 years: on September 24, 2182.
The next steps
The OSIRIS-REx scientific team will continue over the next two years to characterize the sample and perform other analyses. The agency had also reported that some of the content will be reserved for research decades from now, when more powerful technologies than those currently available are available.
The sample will be divided into several parts and will participate in its study a group of more than 200 scientists from around the world. It will include representatives from other US institutions and NASA partners, such as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
Japan, the only other country to have recovered fragments of such bodies, brought to Earth in 2010 and 2020 about a teaspoon of the subsurface of two other asteroids: first from Itokawa and then, 10 years later, from Ryugu.