NASA’s recent analysis of asteroid samples has unveiled pristine organic compounds and salty traces of an ancient water world, strengthening the theory that asteroids may have delivered the ingredients for life to Earth.
The Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected 122 grams (4 ounces) of dust and pebbles from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, making it the largest extraterrestrial sample retrieved beyond the moon. This material, remnants from the solar system’s formation 4.5 billion years ago, was carefully preserved and distributed to research teams, whose findings were recently published in Nature and Nature Astronomy.
Among the discoveries were sodium-rich minerals, amino acids, ammonia, and fragments of genetic material—compelling evidence that organic molecules interacted with water early in the solar system’s history. Tim McCoy of the Smithsonian Institution described this environment as potentially crucial in the transition from raw elements to life.
Unlike meteorites that endure harsh atmospheric entry, these asteroid samples remained intact, allowing researchers to detect delicate salt deposits similar to those found in California’s Mojave Desert and the Sahara. Yasuhito Sekine of the Institute of Science Tokyo emphasized that such findings were only possible because the material was directly collected from Bennu and carefully preserved.
The presence of nitrogen, particularly ammonia, was one of the biggest surprises. NASA’s Daniel Glavin confirmed that all organic molecules found in the samples were extraterrestrial in origin, ruling out contamination from Earth.
Bennu, a small rubble-pile asteroid, was once part of a much larger body that suffered multiple collisions. Researchers believe its parent asteroid had underground lakes or even oceans, which eventually evaporated, leaving behind these salty residues.
Currently, 60 laboratories worldwide are analyzing bits of Bennu, while most of the collected material remains stored for future research. More studies on asteroid and comet samples are expected, with China planning its own asteroid sample return mission this year.
Meanwhile, many scientists advocate for missions to retrieve samples from Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt that may have held liquid water, as well as Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus—both of which are thought to harbor subsurface oceans.
NASA is also working on retrieving Martian rock samples, though plans for their return are still in development. As McCoy puts it, the ultimate question remains: Are we alone?
