On September 24, 2023, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft dropped a capsule to Earth containing pristine carbonaceous regolith collected from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. These samples have been obtained after the probe took a powerful, seven-year roundtrip journey by the photo voltaic system and again.Since these area rock items arrived (roughly 120 grams of pattern, to be exact) scientists have extremely anticipated an evaluation of the specimens that may inform us what molecules lie inside Bennu. They have been hoping to seek out clues concerning the historical past of our photo voltaic system, seeing as Bennu ought to’ve been current when our cosmic neighborhood was coming collectively, and prebiotic molecules which may present insights into the origin of life on Earth. It is attainable, many specialists speculated, that these samples may host the seeds of different important elements, reminiscent of water, that would have contributed to Earth’s habitability in the event that they ended up on our planet, too.”The pattern we returned is the biggest reservoir of unaltered asteroid materials on Earth proper now,” Dante Lauretta, co-lead writer of the paper and principal investigator for OSIRIS-REx on the College of Arizona, Tucson, mentioned in an announcement.Whereas preliminary research did certainly point out the OSIRIS-REx samples exhibited proof of carbon and water, maybe much more outstanding is the crew’s current, and surprising, discovery of magnesium-sodium phosphate. That is an ionic compound composed of the magnesium cation (Mg2+), sodium cation (Na⁺) and phosphate anion (PO43-). Associated: NASA’s OSIRIS-REx lands samples of asteroid Bennu to Earth after historic 4-billion-mile journeyOn Earth, magnesium-sodium phosphate might be present in sure minerals and geological formations. Based on a NASA press launch, nevertheless, its presence on Bennu stunned the analysis crew as a result of it wasn’t seen within the OSIRIS-REx probe’s distant sensing knowledge previous to pattern assortment. The crew says its presence “hints that the asteroid may have splintered off from a long-gone, tiny, primitive ocean world.””The presence and state of phosphates, together with different parts and compounds on Bennu, counsel a watery previous for the asteroid,” mentioned Lauretta. “Bennu probably may have as soon as been a part of a wetter world. Though, this speculation requires additional investigation.”Breaking area information, the most recent updates on rocket launches, skywatching occasions and extra!The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft obtained a pattern of Bennu’s regolith on October 20, 2020 utilizing its Contact-and-Go Pattern Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM), which contains a specialised sampler head located on an articulated arm. Bennu is a small B-type asteroid, that are comparatively unusual carbonaceous asteroids. “[Bennu] was chosen because the mission goal partially as a result of telescopic observations indicated a primitive, carbonaceous composition and water-bearing minerals,” acknowledged the crew of their paper.The highest-left pane reveals a darkish Bennu particle, a couple of millimeter lengthy, with an outer crust of vibrant phosphate. The opposite three panels present progressively zoomed-in views of a fraction of the particle that cut up off alongside a vibrant vein containing phosphate, captured by a scanning electron microscope. (Picture credit score: Lauretta & Connolly et al. (2024))The pattern was collected from a web site nicknamed Nightingale, which is located in Hokioi Crater, an influence characteristic in Bennu’s northern hemisphere that is about 20 meters (66 toes) in diameter.Additional evaluation on the samples revealed the prevailing element of the regolith pattern is magnesium-bearing phyllosilicates, primarily serpentine and smectite — forms of rock sometimes discovered at mid-ocean ridges on Earth. A comparability of those serpentinites with their terrestrial counterparts supplies attainable insights into Bennu’s geological previous. “Providing clues concerning the aqueous atmosphere through which they originated,” wrote the crew.Artist’s conception of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft amassing a pattern from the asteroid Bennu. (Picture credit score: NASA/Goddard/College of Arizona)Whereas Bennu’s floor might have been altered by water over time, it nonetheless preserves a few of the historical traits scientists imagine have been current throughout the early photo voltaic system’s days. Bennu’s floor supplies nonetheless include some unique options from the cloud of fuel and mud from which our photo voltaic system’s planets fashioned — generally known as the protoplanetary disk. The crew’s research additionally confirmed the asteroid is wealthy in carbon, nitrogen and a few natural compounds — all of which, along with the magnesium phosphate, are important parts for all times as we all know it on Earth.”These findings underscore the significance of amassing and finding out materials from asteroids like Bennu — particularly low-density materials that may sometimes dissipate upon getting into Earth’s ambiance,” mentioned Lauretta. “This materials holds the important thing to unraveling the intricate processes of photo voltaic system formation and the prebiotic chemistry that would have contributed to life rising on Earth.”Along with the necessary scientific discoveries made throughout this mission, it underscores the importance of pattern return in unraveling the geological and geochemical intricacies of asteroids like Bennu, and their implications for the formation and evolution of the photo voltaic system.”The information we’ve got offered listed here are solely the tip of the iceberg: there’s possible extra concerning the pattern that we have no idea than we do know,” concluded the scientists.The paper about these outcomes was printed on June 26 within the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science.Editor’s Replace 6/27: Magnesium phosphate, not magnesium-sodium phosphate, is current inside residing organisms. This text has been up to date to mirror that.