Scientists analysing samples from the asteroid Bennu have made a series of staggering discoveries, uncovering what they describe as the fundamental 'building blocks of life' alongside a mysterious, never-before-seen 'space gum' substance. The findings, retrieved from a spacecraft mission spanning 63 million kilometres (39 million miles), are poised to transform our understanding of how life may have begun.
Essential Ingredients for Life Found in Space Rock
Space communications expert Alexandra Doten shared the 'huge news' on TikTok, detailing the analysis of the precious cargo brought back to Earth by NASA. Researchers at Tohoku University in Japan identified sugars essential for biology, specifically ribose and glucose, within the asteroid material. This marks the first time such sugars have been confirmed in an extraterrestrial sample.
Furthermore, scientists discovered 14 of the 20 amino acids used by life on Earth to create proteins. Crucially, all five nucleotide bases that form the backbone of DNA and RNA were also present on Bennu. 'This has huge implications,' explained Alexandra. 'It could imply that RNA is more prevalent in the universe and could be the dominant form of early life.'
The Baffling Discovery of 'Space Gum'
In a separate and equally puzzling development, a team led by Scott Sandford at NASA's Ames Research Center and Zack Gainsforth of the University of California detailed the discovery of a strange, flexible material. NASA described it as 'a pliable material, similar to used gum or even a soft plastic'. The substance, found nowhere else in the known solar system, had been made brittle by prolonged exposure to space radiation, 'like a lawn chair left too many seasons in the sun.'
This 'space gum' adds a new layer of mystery to Bennu's composition, which was already known to be rich in carbon, water, nitrogen, and organic compounds. The asteroid also contains the mineral serpentine, which closely resembles rocks found in Earth's mid-ocean ridges.
An Ancient Water World Chunk?
The collective evidence has led researchers to a compelling hypothesis. 'Scientists think this asteroid is a chunk of an ancient water world that has been travelling through space for billions of years,' said Alexandra Doten. This theory suggests that the ingredients for life may have been scattered across the early solar system by such celestial bodies.
A third study, led by Ann Nguyen from NASA's Johnson Space Centre, highlighted another surprise: an unexpectedly high amount of ancient dust within the sample, produced by supernova explosions that predate our own solar system. This stardust adds to the profound historical record encapsulated within the asteroid.
The successful retrieval and analysis of the Bennu sample represent a monumental leap for planetary science. The presence of water, organic molecules, sugars, and genetic building blocks on a single asteroid strongly supports the idea that the raw materials for life are common in the cosmos, potentially delivered to young planets like Earth via asteroid impacts.
