Scientists poring over a sample brought back from the asteroid Bennu have detected amino acids and complex mineral compounds, some of which have never been found in space rocks.
A team at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History discovered a salty residue left over from an ancient brine. Through evaporation, it formed minerals rich in sodium, carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine, and fluorine. Finding these ingredients shows that the conditions to make them existed earlier and more widely in the solar system than previously thought.
Another study led by NASA scientists identified several different types of amino acids — tiny building blocks that make up proteins essential for life — in the asteroid material. Those findings included 14 of the 20 amino acids that Earth life uses to build proteins. These same amino acids have also been found in meteorites.
The new research helps build the case that space rocks brought chemicals necessary for life to emerge on this planet through collisions in ancient cosmic history. The pair of papers were published separately in Nature and Nature Astronomy on Wednesday.
Support authors and subscribe to content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.