Epocal discovery on Bennu, key molecules for life and traces of salted water

The analysis of the rock samples and dust of the Asteroid Bennu, reported on earth by NASA’s Osiris-Rex probe, revealed the presence of crucial molecules for life, including amino acids and nucleobasis, and traces of salted water. This discovery, published in the magazines Nature e Nature Astronomydoes not feel the existence of life on Bennu, but It suggests that the conditions necessary for the emergence of life were common in the primordial solar system, increasing the chances that life may also have been born on other planets and moons.

“NASA’s Osiris-Rex mission is already rewriting textbooks on what we understand about the origins of our solar system,” Nicky Fox, associated administrator of the Science Mission Directorate said at the NASA headquarters in Washington. “Asteroids represent a capsule of the time in the history of our planet, and Bennu’s champions are fundamental to understand which elements of our solar system existed before life began on earth.”

Among the identified molecules, 14 of the 20 amino acids used by life on earth stand out to build proteins, and all five nucleobases that make up the DNA and RNA, the molecules that codify and transmit genetic information. A large amount of ammonia has also been detected, a molecule which, combined with formaldehyde (also present in the champions), can form amino acids under certain conditions.

In addition to the organic molecules, the Bennu champions contain traces of 11 minerals that form when the salted water evaporates. This discovery suggests that the asteroid Bennu, in its distant past, hosted a water environment rich in mineral salts, similar to those found on some dwarfs and moons of the solar system, such as Ceres and Encelado.

“The traces we are looking for are so minimal and so easily destroyed or altered by exposure to the terrestrial environment,” Danny Glavin, Senior scientist for champions at the Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt saidMaryland, and main co -author of the article on Nature Astronomy. “That’s why some of these new discoveries would not be possible without a return mission of samples, meticulous measures to control contamination, and a careful care and conservation of this precious material from Bennu.”

The discovery of these fundamental molecules for life in an uncontaminated sample, collected directly in space, It strengthens the hypothesis that celestial objects formed away from the sun could have contributed to “sowing” the primordial ingredients of life throughout the sun system. However, many mysteries still remain to be revealed. For example, The amino acids present on Bennu are in equal measure right and accident, while life on Earth uses almost exclusively the left version. The reason for this “preference” of land life remains an enigma.

The Osiris-Rex mission has provided precious data that open new perspectives in the search for life outside the earth. The analysis of Bennu’s champions will continue to enrich our knowledge on the origin of life and the evolution of the Solar System. The hope is that future spatial missions can lead to the discovery of extraterrestrial life forms, confirming the hypothesis that life is a phenomenon widespread in the universe.