The investigation of rock samples of the asteroid Bennu has offered surprising findings: in the collected samples, water with water and a variety of organic molecules, including amino acids and DNA building blocks, found in the foundations of earthly life, but are not natural occurring On our planet.
Already in 2020 the NASA probe had taken “Osiris-Rex” material from the Bennu surface. The capsule with approximately 120 grams of rock landed safely on earth in September 2023. The first analyzes showed that the material contains exceptionally high amounts of carbon – an essential life element of life.
A more accurate study by two research teams, whose studies have been published in “Nature” and “Nature Astronomy”, now showed that Bennu contained salt water. Complex organic molecules could have formed in this area. Especially remarkable is the detection of 14 of the 20 amino acids that are essential for the development of proteins on earth, as well as all five DNA and RNA nucleobases.
Indications of life -friendly circumstances
The discovery of water -containing minerals such as phosphates, carbonates and sulfates indicates that Bennus, which was created 4.5 billion years ago, could have housed liquid water. This water could have been evaporated, which caused salty deposits – similar to the dry sea beds on earth.
The researchers suspect that similar processes also ran on other celestial bodies in the young solar system. Similar circumstances can still exist on Saturn’s Moon Enceladus or the Dwarf Planet Ceres.
A look at the origin of life
“We now know that the raw materials for the development of life already existed on the original body of Bennu,” said Timothy McCoy of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural Histor, CO author one of the studies. However, it remains unclear whether these chemical processes have actually led to life. It costs more than just the right molecules – including an energy source and a stable environment with liquid water.
In any case, the research results support the dissertation that the building blocks of life may have reached the young earth through meteorites. The asteroid Bennu therefore serves as a kind of time capsule that provides insights into the early chemical processes of the solar system. The scientists assume that rehearsals will offer many years of further knowledge.
Source: Krone
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