Early analysis of the asteroid Bennu sample returned by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has revealed dust rich in carbon, nitrogen, and organic compounds, all of which are essential components for life as we know it.
Early analysis of the asteroid Bennu sample returned by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has revealed dust rich in carbon, nitrogen, and organic compounds, all of which are essential components for life as we know it. Dominated by clay minerals, particularly serpentine, the sample mirrors the type of rock found at mid-ocean ridges on Earth.
The magnesium-sodium phosphate found in the sample hints that the asteroid could have splintered off from an ancient, small, primitive ocean world. The phosphate was a surprise to the team because the mineral had not been detected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft while at Bennu.
While a similar phosphate was found in the asteroid Ryugu sample delivered by JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Hayabusa2 mission in 2020, the magnesium-sodium phosphate detected in the Bennu sample stands out for its purity (that is, the lack of other materials included in the mineral) and the size of its grains, unprecedented in any meteorite sample.
Read more at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Image: A microscope image of a dark Bennu particle, about a millimeter long, with a crust of bright phosphate. To the right is a smaller fragment that broke off. (Credit: From Lauretta & Connolly et al. (2024) Meteoritics & Planetary Science, doi:10.1111/maps.14227)
