Samples collected by OSIRIS-REx prove that asteroids played a crucial role in the formation of Earth.

The U.S. National Astronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has confirmed what scientists have long believed: many ingredients for life on Earth are here thanks to the lifeless celestial bodies circling around the Sun.

Following a preliminary assessment, NASA said in a statement that the samples collected by its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from took from asteroid Bennu are rich in both water and carbon, which are considered the building blocks of life our planet. on Earth," 

“The OSIRIS-REx sample is the biggest carbon-rich asteroid sample ever delivered to Earth and will help scientists investigate the origins of life on our own planet for generations to come,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson was quoted as saying.

The research backs up the theory that space rocks like Bennu have played an important role in the development of life on Earth due to their impacts with our planet over the millennia. 

The mission has brought samples that contain hydrated clay minerals, in which carbon makes up around 5%.

Asteroid Bennu. Credit: NASA

OSIRIS-Rex (“Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer”) was launched in 2016 and reached Bennu, a 503-meter asteroid, in two years. In 2020, its collection system called Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) drilled the rock’s surface to collect some 250 grams of material.

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The spacecraft’s cargo touched down in the Utah desert of the United States in September, while it continued its way to another asteroid - Apophis.

Initial observations posit that the 370-meter Apophis has a very small chance to hit Earth in April 2029. Bennu will get the same chance in September 2182. 

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