A space rock heading for Earth contains elements crucial for life, scientists reveal, potentially revolutionizing our comprehension of the cosmos.
Experts uncovered signs of ancient water and a peculiar substance dubbed ‘space gum’ never encountered on an asteroid before. The significant breakthroughs were made using a fragment of the asteroid Bennu, retrieved by a spacecraft from a distance of 63 million kilometers (39 million miles) and safely brought back to our planet.
Astronomy specialist Alexandra Doten, in a TikTok post, shared the momentous discovery, indicating that the sample could offer new insights into life’s origins.
Researchers at Tohoku University in Japan detected crucial sugars for life within the rock – a first in extraterrestrial samples. Meanwhile, NASA researchers encountered a pliable, gum-like substance with no match elsewhere in our solar system. Alexandra highlighted the team’s astounding findings, stating, “They came across some truly extraordinary elements.”
“From this sample, we already knew the asteroid holds significant carbon and water, suggesting the essential components for known life forms,” she explained. Additionally, Bennu is covered in nitrogen, organic compounds, and serpentine mineral, resembling a rock found in Earth’s underwater mid-ocean ridges.
“Scientists theorize this asteroid originates from an ancient water world that has traversed space for billions of years,” Alexandra elaborated, discussing Bennu’s composition and its parallels to Earth.
“On Earth, life utilizes 20 amino acids to construct proteins – and 14 of them were found on this asteroid,” she noted. All five nucleotide bases forming DNA and RNA were present on Bennu, with recent discoveries of essential sugars like ribose and glucose.
Ribose, a component of Ribonucleic acid (RNA), indicates the potential for RNA formation on Bennu, hinting at broader implications for life’s origins. “This could suggest RNA’s prevalence in the universe as a primary form of early life,” she added.
In a separate study published in Natural Astronomy, scientists detailed a gum-like material found on the asteroid, resembling pliable gum or soft plastic, altered by radiation exposure. Moreover, a third study in the same journal, led by NASA’s Johnson Space Centre, revealed an unusually high amount of dust from pre-solar system supernova explosions.
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