Orbit diagram for Bennu together with the terrestrial planets trying down from above the North Pole of the solar (prime) and alongside the ecliptic aircraft (backside). Credit score: Meteoritics & Planetary Science (2014). DOI: 10.1111/maps.12353
Curtin College researchers are amongst a worldwide staff of scientists who’re discovering how our photo voltaic system got here to be, by uncovering the secrets and techniques hidden inside a 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid.
In September final 12 months, after a seven-year journey NASA’s billion-dollar OSIRIS-REx mission efficiently returned samples from the asteroid Bennu, with specimens despatched to analysis laboratories internationally together with Curtin.
A brand new examine revealed in Meteoritics and Planetary Science reveals the primary findings from the samples—and there have been some surprises for the staff.
The samples consisted of principally darkish particles starting from dust-sized to roughly 3.5 cm lengthy, nevertheless there are some lighter particles scattered all through, some with stones additionally having brighter materials forming veins and crusts.
OSIRIS-REx Pattern Evaluation Group member Affiliate Professor Nick Timms from Curtin’s College of Earth and Planetary Sciences stated not like meteorites which have fallen to Earth, the fabric collected from Bennu have been stored in pristine situation and have not been contaminated by Earth’s environment or biosphere.
“Analyses present Bennu is among the many most chemically primitive supplies identified, comparable in composition to the seen floor of the solar,” Affiliate Professor Timms stated.
“This means Bennu has undergone totally different processes to the planets, and these processes modified the abundance of specific components relative to the solar.”
Evaluation of the samples confirmed the presence of assorted parts beforehand considered current, corresponding to hydrated phyllosilicates (a sort of mineral which kinds within the presence of water) and carbon-rich materials.
“This implies asteroids corresponding to this may occasionally have performed a key function in delivering water and the constructing blocks of life to Earth,” Affiliate Professor Timms stated.
The samples additionally contained a number of surprising parts.
“We have been shocked to seek out magnesium-sodium phosphates, which additional suggests Bennu skilled chemical environments which probably concerned water, Affiliate Professor Timms stated.
“We additionally discovered different hint minerals, which supply clues as to the processes which have occurred on Bennu over billions of years, corresponding to temperature and stress situations.
“These hint minerals assist paint an image of Bennu’s evolution and likewise provide insights into the early photo voltaic system and the way the totally different planetary our bodies within the photo voltaic system have been created.”
Affiliate Professor Timms stated there can be many extra discoveries constructed from the Bennu samples, which may have a variety of implications for understanding the early photo voltaic system.
“The pattern has presolar grains created earlier than our photo voltaic system existed, which might present an in depth biography of the lives of historical stars,” Affiliate Professor Timms stated.
“There are additionally very sensible implications to understanding the composition of asteroids, from figuring out potential mining alternatives to figuring out tips on how to greatest shield ourselves ought to an asteroid be on a collision course with Earth.”
Extra data:
D. S. Lauretta et al, The OSIRIS‐REx goal asteroid (101955) Bennu: Constraints on its bodily, geological, and dynamical nature from astronomical observations, Meteoritics & Planetary Science (2014). DOI: 10.1111/maps.12353
Dante S. Lauretta et al, Asteroid (101955) Bennu within the Laboratory: Properties of the Pattern Collected by OSIRIS-REx, arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2404.12536
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Asteroid rocks start to disclose our photo voltaic system’s origins (2024, June 28)
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