Eager scientists and a gleaming lab eagerly await the arrival of the sample from the asteroid Bennu at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. This sample, expected to reach Earth in late September, has the potential to unlock valuable insights into the formation of the solar system and our own planet.
Currently aboard the OSIRIS-REx space probe, the precious cargo is making its way back from Bennu, which orbits the Sun at a distance of 105 million miles (168 million kilometers). As the sample arrives, scientists at the Johnson Space Center will embark on the task of analyzing and studying the rock and dust fragments, with the aim of understanding the building blocks of life that may have existed in our solar system and on Earth.
Long white sleeves hang from the huge metal and glass box, ready to handle the samples. Pieces of the rock and dust will be separated for immediate study, while the rest will be carefully stored for future generations equipped with advanced technology. This practice draws inspiration from the Apollo missions to the Moon.
“We don’t expect there to be anything living, but rather the building blocks of life,” stated Nicole Lunning, lead OSIRIS-REx sample curator, in an interview with AFP. The mission to Bennu aims to uncover the precursors that could have fostered life in our solar system and on Earth.
Once the return vessel arrives at the Texas “cleanroom,” Lunning’s meticulous task will involve carefully disassembling it and separating the contents in a manner that ensures purity and prevents contamination.
Origins of life
The spacecraft carrying the Bennu sample is scheduled to land in the Utah desert on September 24, containing approximately 8.8 ounces (250 grams) of material. Obtaining this sample involved a high-risk operation in October 2020, as the probe made brief contact with the asteroid and emitted a blast of compressed nitrogen to raise the dust sample, which was then captured.
The entire mission faced a setback when NASA discovered that the valve of the collection compartment was failing to close, allowing fragments to escape into space. However, the precious cargo was eventually secured by transferring it to a capsule fixed in the center of the spacecraft.
The first samples brought to Earth from asteroids were obtained by Japanese probes in 2010 and 2020. The 2020 sample was found to contain uracil, one of the building blocks of RNA.
The discovery of uracil in the asteroid sample added weight to the longstanding theory that life on Earth may have originated from outer space, with asteroids carrying fundamental elements. Cosmochemist Eve Berger is excited to begin working with the Bennu material, which has not been exposed to Earth’s atmosphere or any other external factors for billions of years.
“These samples haven’t hit the Earth. They haven’t been exposed to our atmosphere. They haven’t been exposed to really anything except harsh space for billions of years,” stated Berger. The analysis of these samples will help validate existing theories and expand our understanding of how life may have emerged on Earth. It also has the potential to provide insights into interpreting observations on other celestial bodies.
Could Bennu bring back something completely unprecedented? “You never know,” said Berger. “Bennu is a trickster, so we’ll know more in a few months when the sample comes back—that would be exciting!”
© 2023 AFP
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NASA lab hopes to find life’s building blocks in asteroid sample (2023, July 26)
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