In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have identified the chemical building blocks of life within the dusty remains of an asteroid named Bennu. The samples, collected by NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft and brought back to Earth, contain a rich variety of minerals and thousands of organic compounds, including amino acids and nucleobases. These molecules are the fundamental components of DNA and proteins, which are essential for life as we know it. While this finding does not prove that life existed on Bennu, it supports the theory that asteroids may have delivered these vital ingredients to Earth billions of years ago, possibly seeding the emergence of life.

The discovery was made possible by the ambitious Osiris-Rex mission, which collected a sample of Bennu's surface material and returned it to Earth in 2023. The 120-gram sample of black dust has been shared with scientists around the world, who are studying its composition and properties. Professor Sara Russell, a cosmic mineralogist from the Natural History Museum in London, described the findings as “amazing,” stating that they provide insights into our own origins and the potential for life elsewhere in the Solar System. The research has been published in two papers in the journal Nature.

Analysis of Bennu's dust has unveiled a treasure trove of organic compounds, including 14 of the 20 amino acids used by life on Earth and all four nucleobases that constitute DNA. The presence of these molecules indicates that Bennu, and likely other asteroids, may have played a role in delivering the raw materials necessary for life to our planet. The study also found evidence of water and ammonia on the asteroid, both of which are essential for biochemical reactions. These findings lend support to the theory that asteroids bombarded the early Earth, seeding our planet with the ingredients required for life.

This discovery holds significant implications for our understanding of the origins of life and the possibility of finding life elsewhere in the Solar System. Dr. Ashley King from the Natural History Museum explained that asteroids like Bennu may have collided with other planets, potentially delivering the building blocks of life to those worlds as well. The research team has decades of work ahead of them, studying the Bennu samples and exploring our cosmic neighborhood for signs of life. As Professor Russell noted, “Who doesn’t want to know how life started?” The identification of life’s building blocks on Bennu brings us one step closer to answering this fundamental question.