NASA's Findings on 'Bennu' Asteroid

TapTechNews June 27th news, NASA yesterday (June 26th) released a blog post stating that the initial analysis of the sample of the Bennu asteroid shows that the dust is rich in carbon, nitrogen and organic compounds, further indicating that this asteroid originated from an ancient ocean planet.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected 4.3 ounces (121.6 grams) of the original Bennu asteroid sample and returned the asteroid sample capsule to Earth on September 24th, 2023, and then scientists carried out detailed research work.

Researchers conducted the first analysis of the sample collected from the 4.5-billion-year-old Bennu asteroid and found that it was rich in carbon and water. These evidences all indicate that the components of life on Earth may also exist in the rocks and dust of Bennu.

TapTechNews quoted NASA's press release, and scientists found magnesium-sodium phosphate in the sample, which has a great chance of indicating that this asteroid split from an ancient, small, primitive ocean world.

The discovery of phosphate surprised the research team. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft had not detected such minerals when detecting Bennu before.

The sample is mainly clay minerals, and there is relatively more serpentine, which is basically the same as the rock type found on the Mid-ocean ridge (a series of volcanic structure systems located at the global mid-ocean spreading plate boundary).

This interaction will not only form clay, but also generate a variety of minerals such as carbonate, iron oxide and iron sulfide. But the most unexpected finding is the existence of water-soluble phosphates, which are the key biochemical components of all known life on Earth today.

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