NASA finds key molecules for life in OSIRIS-REx asteroid samples. Here's what that means
There are 20 amino acids that create the proteins required for life on our planet — and scientists have now found exactly 14 of them on an asteroid millions of miles away. The asteroid in question, named Bennu, was the focus of a very dreamy NASA mission called OSIRIS-REx that launched in 2016.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission teases new insights on how life began
NASA and its partners have published the first wave of information about the samples collected in the OSIRIS-REx mission. "The findings do not show evidence for life itself, but they do suggest the conditions necessary for the emergence of life were widespread across the early solar system,
NASA scientists find 'ingredients for life' in asteroid sample
Samples of asteroid Bennu contain molecules that suggest the "conditions necessary for life" were widespread across the early solar system, according to NASA.
Minerals Crucial to Life Found in Asteroid Samples From Space
The building blocks for life, including salts, organic matter and amino acids have been found in samples returned to Earth from outer space.
NASA’s Asteroid Bennu Sample Reveals Mix of Life’s Ingredients
Studies of asteroid Bennu delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft have revealed molecules that, on our planet, are key to life.
Asteroid had 'all the stuff' to make life, OSIRIS-REx samples reveal
Bennu samples brought back by a University of Arizona-led space mission contain the key ingredients of life and signs of the stew needed to mix them.
Historic asteroid sample reveals the ‘building blocks of life are in fact extraterrestrial in origin,’ scientists say
Scientists have detected organic compounds and minerals necessary for life in the samples collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission from a near-Earth asteroid named Bennu.
Building blocks of life identified in sample collected from asteroid Bennu
This artist’s concept shows NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid’s surface. NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona Scientists studying the sample collected in 2023 from asteroid Bennu have announced a dramatic finding: they have identified the key building blocks of life within the sample.
Asteroids: Cosmic Seeds of Life Unearthed by NASA's Osiris-Rex
NASA's Osiris-Rex mission has uncovered invaluable samples from asteroid Bennu, revealing ancient salty minerals and amino acids. This discovery suggests that asteroids could have contributed to the origins of life on Earth.
NASA's asteroid sample reveals key chemistry that could lead to life
All forms of Earth life have specific chemicals in their makeup, such as amino acids and sugars. Scientists have known that asteroids hold molecules believed to be the precursors to these chemicals. By studying the Bennu samples, they hope to gain more insight into how these ingredients could have evolved.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx Uncovers Clues to Life’s Origins!
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission brought back samples from asteroid Bennu, uncovering clues about the origins of life. Scientists found amino acids, nucleobases, and evidence of past water, suggesting Bennu formed in the outer solar system before drifting closer to Earth.
NASA's Bennu samples contain life's building blocks, including amino acids and DNA/RNA nucleobases
Samples contain all five nucleobases of DNA and RNA, supporting theory that asteroids may have seeded Earth with life's ...
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Bannu asteroid sample holds building blocks for life, researchers say
Researchers say the asteroid Bennu has the building blocks for life on it. The samples collected and returned to Earth were ...