Analysing returned samples Tim McCoy (right), curator of meteorites at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and research geologist Cari Corrigan examine scanning electron microscope ...

An early analysis of a sample collected from the asteroid Bennu suggests that the space rock had an unexpectedly water-rich past — and it may have even splintered off from an ancient ocean world.

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs. The first analysis of the Bennu asteroid samples that NASA brought to Earth earlier ...

The analysis also hints at Bennu's turbulent ... The top image shows hydrated sodium carbonate salts highlighted in purple. The Bennu sample container. Credit: NASA "We're seeing minerals in ...

Most of the $1 billion mission's cache has been set aside for future analysis. Scientists stress more testing is needed to better understand the Bennu samples, as well as more asteroid and comet ...

NASA’s first asteroid sample is the most pristine sample of its kind. Now, back on Earth, the sample from asteroid Bennu has already delivered surprising findings about the early solar system ...

"The Bennu samples are tantalizingly beautiful extraterrestrial rocks," said Harold Connolly, co-author of the study. "Each week, analysis by the OSIRIS-REx Sample Analysis Team provides new and ...

NASA's first asteroid sample is the most pristine sample of its kind. Now, back on Earth, the sample from asteroid Bennu has already delivered surprising findings about the early solar system and ...