Scientists at NASA studying a 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid are close to uncovering secrets about the origins of life on Earth. On Monday, NASA announced its initial results from a historic seven-year mission that included intercepting the ancient asteroid "Bennu" as it orbited the sun, while sending samples back to Earth for study.
Initial results showed that the sample collected from the asteroid is rich in carbon, one of life’s fundamental building blocks. It also contains significant amounts of water in the form of hydrated minerals, another essential component in the recipe for life. Scientists suggest that an asteroid like "Bennu" may have delivered these elements, among other essentials of life, to Earth billions of years ago, initiating the processes that led to our existence.
Carbon makes up about 5% of the sample, according to Dante Lauretta, the head of the OSIRIS-REx mission. In an interview with The Washington Post, Lauretta stated, "This is a very carbon-rich sample, the richest we have found amongst all materials from beyond Earth. We are still uncovering complex organic chemistry, but it seems promising to truly understand: Did these carbon-rich asteroids deliver essential molecules that may have contributed to the origin of life?"
Some scientists believe that the beginnings of life occurred when chemical reactions produced the molecules that lead to life: amino acids, sugars, fats, and so on. However, others doubt that these chemicals originated from outer space, asserting they were delivered by asteroids striking the forming Earth. This theory, known as "panspermia lite," differs from "panspermia," which suggests that actual living organisms were delivered between planets and star systems.
Lauretta's team also discovered a light-colored triangular stone, a material which he claims has not been observed in meteorites before. It is unclear whether he means that the material is completely unknown or if it’s a known substance that is unusual to see in a meteorite.
Lauretta and his team do not promise a definitive answer regarding the chemical origin of life on Earth, but they keep it at the forefront of their minds while analyzing materials collected from "Bennu." They do not expect to find biological materials—indicators of animals, plants, or microorganisms—in the asteroid's debris. What they hope to find are some basic chemical elements of life: sugars that form the basis of DNA, or fats that make up cell membranes, or amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.
