The discovery of amino acids, abundant ammonia, and the bases of DNA and RNA on asteroid Bennu suggest that materials essential to life might be widespread throughout the solar system.
Bennu
Posted inNews
There and Back Again: Asteroid Samples Return to Earth
OSIRIS-REx will help reveal Bennu’s detailed carbon chemistry and history of space weathering and unlock a key piece of the solar system’s early history.
Posted inNews
Tiny “Pancakes” Suggest Some Asteroids May Stay Active
Analysis of a meteorite that fell in Costa Rica shows that its parent body may resemble the asteroid Bennu.
Posted inScience Updates
A Time Capsule from the Early Solar System Is En Route to Earth
After an exciting encounter with asteroid Bennu, the OSIRIS-REx mission team looks forward to hitting pay dirt when a hefty sample of ancient planetesimal material is delivered to Earth next year.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Up Close with an Active Asteroid
A new journal special collection investigates the ejection of particles from the asteroid Bennu and the implications of these observations for asteroid science.
Posted inNews
Location, Location, Location: The How-to’s of Asteroid Sampling
Finding the right spot to grab a sample of Bennu was more of a challenge than the OSIRIS-REx team had originally planned.
Posted inNews
Asteroid Visited by Mission Spews Rocks into Space
Mission scientists observed 11 separate particle ejection events in a 1-month period. They are still trying to figure out what could be causing the particle plumes.
Posted inNews
All About Bennu: A Rubble Pile with a Lot of Surprises
Asteroid Bennu has been under close scrutiny since December. Here are six key results from the first few months of data from OSIRIS-REx.
Posted inEditors' Vox
To Bennu and Back
Justin Filiberto shares his experience as a guest at the OSIRIS-REx launch; a mission to obtain samples from the asteroid Bennu in hopes of learning more about the origin of water on Earth.
Posted inNews
NASA's New Asteroid Sampler Will Illuminate Solar System's History
In 7 years, scientists hope to directly analyze materials from the asteroid Bennu, an object that may reveal what conditions were like in the solar system 4.5 billion years ago.