Scientists finally watched debris gathered by the NASA spacecraft of the asteroid. In it, they found new tips on the ingredients of life, which were present in the early Solar System and how they could come to Earth.
The international team of scientists has spent some of their discoveries about the samples The Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected by NASA from close land rich in Bennu in 2020. AND He returned to earth in 2023.
Bennu, rich in carbon asteroid, which circulates so close to 300,000 kilometers per earth, was part of the asteroid of ancestors, which was created in an early solar system about 4.5 billion years ago. For this reason, he can tell scientists what molecules needed for life were present in the early solar system.
“This asteroid is like a frozen time capsule,” said Kim Tait, an older custodian in the mineralogy at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and co-author of the new study on its minerals.
The NASA spaceship descended to the asteroid and temporarily touched the surface to collect a handful of cosmic dust. Michael Daly, the main scientist of the instrument, who mapped the surface of the asteroid, answered several questions from two special guests.
What the scientists found on the asteroid
By studying minerals from dry and dusty asteroids, scientists could say that she once contained salt water and that salt has sodium, chlorides, carbonates and phosphates Nature. The crystals seemed to create as salt lakes on earth.
A separate analysis of life -important molecules showed amino acids, including 14 out of 20 proteins used for the construction of proteins in live matters. He also found all five nucleobases or RNA and DNA structural elements, researchers were given by scientists Astronomy of nature.
“Now we know from Bennu that the raw ingredients of life were connected in a really interesting and complex way on Bennu's parental body,” said Tim McCoy, a meteor custodian at the Natural Museum of Natural History Smithsonian and the main author of New Mineral Study in a press release.
Tait said that these particles based on coal were created in “very salty, solo water that we did not expect at all.”
The examination adds to evidence from meteorites AND Another mission of sampling asteroidsIN Hayabusa2 of the Space Agency Japanese Agencythat space rocks can transfer water necessary for life and biological building blocks, such as amino acids and nucleos.
The space capsule, which won rare fragments from the asteroid of Benn, was effectively released back to earth. Scientists believe that the asteroid may contain tips on the emergence of life on earth.
What this can mean for the origin of life
Scientists wrote In a natural study that the conditions that had to exist in ancient astroide, from which Bennu came “poses intriguing, but unverified environment” to create molecules necessary for life. They suggest conducting experiments to see if DNA and RNA components can form in similar chemical conditions in the laboratory.
“We now know that we have basic components to navigate this path towards life, but we do not know how far this path can allow progress on this path,” said McCoy.
Tait added that one of NASA's priorities is to look for water in space because it is necessary to live.
“I think that this will excite me very much,” she said, “and I hope that other people really excited about the possibilities of another life.”
Tait was part of a working group of scientists who met every two weeks to discuss and interpret the new results of the analyzes of various parts of the asteroid sample distributed to laboratories around the world.
Canada was part of the team for the Asteroid return mission because she was The instrument used to mapping the asteroid contributed to collect the sample.
Although there are signs that places such as Planet Mars could once have water and a warmer atmosphere, Gordon Osiński, a professor from Western University in London, Ont., Said that the new findings “can mean … even asteroids could have had appropriate conditions for life “.
There was a previous chemical sign of water – minerals called hydrated silicate – Found during Bennu scan by Osiris spacecraft.
But currently there is no water in Bennu, and a new study suggests that it has evaporated in the past.
The NASA spacecraft will try to take a sample from the Bennu asteroid surface, and Canadian technology has enabled the best place to download the sample. NASA asteroid landing, asteroid Bennu, Canadian Tech NASA, Canada Asteroid, NASA asteroid probe
One of the other questions related to the origin of life that scientists wanted to examine with this mission was why amino acids, which can be in the form of chemical called “left-handed” and “right-handed”, are found only on the left- the form in vivid things is given .
Scientists have reported a new one Astronomy of nature The study that amino acids collected from Bennu are both in the form of left -handed and right -handed in more or less equal amounts.
Osinski said that scientists are not entirely sure what this could mean: “But this partly answers the question”, suggesting that left-handed amino acids in life on earth probably was not caused by asteroids, such as Bennu, usually left- they handed the particles, when they crashed to earth in the past.
Osinski, who examines how the meteorite influence could play a role in his origin, said that scientists have long hypotized that asteroids could provide the construction of life to Earth.
And in fact Proof of water, building buildings and the components of DNA and RNA have Previously found on meteorites, including those that landed in CanadaThe problem is that meteorites could be contaminated with water and life on earth.
The exciting thing in Bennu samples is that they were collected in space. “And they are absolutely virgin,” said Osiński. “So we know that something found in these samples comes and has been created either on this asteroid or in the solar system.”