Ancient dust from asteroid Bennu contains the cosmic ingredients for life
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission successfully returned a pristine sample from the asteroid Bennu, revealing high concentrations of carbon and water that may explain how life began on Earth.
Analysis of the 4.5 billion-year-old rubble collected from asteroid Bennu reveals a treasure trove of carbon and water-bearing clay minerals. These elements are considered the essential building blocks for life as we know it. Scientists believe that carbon-rich asteroids crashing into Earth billions of years ago may have delivered the chemical precursors necessary to jumpstart our planet's biological history.
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