NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has delivered samples from asteroid Bennu, revealing 14 amino acids and five nucleobases also found in life forms on Earth. The findings suggest that the conditions necessary for life's emergence were common in the early solar system, increasing the likelihood of life forming elsewhere. The samples also contained high levels of ammonia and formaldehyde, which can combine to form complex molecules like amino acids. Analysis suggests the presence of a 'brine,' indicating past salt water evaporation.
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 , increasing the odds life could have formed on other planets and moons," NASA said in ato autonomously acquire rocks and dust from an asteroid called Bennu.
"Data from OSIRIS-REx adds major brushstrokes to a picture of a solar system teeming with the potential for life," said Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA Goddard."Why we, so far, only see life on Earth and not elsewhere, that’s the truly tantalizing question."
OSIRIS-Rex Asteroid Bennu Amino Acids Nucleobases Early Solar System
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