The first study (Nature Astronomy, "Abundant ammonia and nitrogen-rich soluble organic matter in samples from asteroid (101955) Bennu"), by international authors, analysed the samples to reveal ...

This figure illustrates key molecules and minerals discovered in samples of near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu, ... “Ammonia and formaldehyde likely reacted together to form the amino acids and ...

In 2018, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission reached asteroid 101955 Bennu. Two years later, the spacecraft snagged a sample of its surface, which has since been returned to Earth.

A big question in the origin of life on Earth is why it is based solely on "left-handed" amino acids. Studies on asteroid Bennu's chemical building blocks deepens the mystery. Credit: Christoph ...

Bennu also contains all five amino acids that make up terrestrial genetic material. The NASA mission with the Osiris-Rex probe , which collected samples on Bennu and dropped them over the Earth in ...

Pristine samples of asteroid Bennu have revealed something entirely unexpected — not only does the asteroid contain the chemical building blocks of life, but it also originated from an ancient, ...

More information: Daniel Glavin, Abundant ammonia and nitrogen-rich soluble organic matter in samples from asteroid (101955) Bennu, Nature Astronomy (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-024-02472-9.

Scientists poring over a sample brought back from the asteroid Bennu have detected amino acids and complex mineral compounds, some of which have never been found in space rocks. A team at the ...

Further analysis of Bennu’s sample is ongoing, and more discoveries are expected. Meanwhile, OSIRIS-REx has been renamed OSIRIS-APEX and is now en route to study the asteroid Apophis. The search for ...

Glavin and his team detected thousands of organic molecular compounds, including 33 amino acids, in the Bennu samples they studied. Amino acids, or molecules that combine to form proteins, ...

“Other teams have found various precursors of biomolecules such as numerous amino acids in the Bennu samples,” reports Prof. Frank Brenker. ... (101955) Bennu Nature Astronomy (2025) https: ...

Abundant ammonia and nitrogen-rich soluble organic matter in samples from asteroid (101955) Bennu. Nature Astronomy , 2025; DOI: 10.1038/s41550-024-02472-9 Cite This Page : ...