WASHINGTON, January 30. /TASS/. Samples of rock and dust from asteroid Bennu revealed minerals and molecules that are key to life on Earth, NASA said.
The analysis of the samples delivered by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft has "revealed molecules that, on our planet, are key to life, as well as a history of saltwater that could have served as the 'broth' for these compounds to interact and combine," "building blocks for life" of sorts.
"NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission already is rewriting the textbook on what we understand about the beginnings of our solar system," said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Asteroids provide a time capsule into our home planet’s history, and Bennu’s samples are pivotal in our understanding of what ingredients in our solar system existed before life started on Earth," she explained.