Exploring the Origins of Life: Analysis of Asteroid Bennu Sample

2024-07-08 12:42:45

Microscope image of a dark brown particle, about a millimeter long, with a light phosphate membrane. On the right is a smaller broken fragment. Credit: by Lauretta & Connolly et al. (2024) Meteorology and Planetary Sciencedoi:10.1111/maps.14227

Analysis of a sample from the asteroid Bennu has found essential components of life and clues to a watery climate, providing insights into the origins of the solar system and prebiotic chemistry.

• Early analysis of the Bennu asteroid sample returned by
  NASA
  NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is the United States government agency responsible for the nation’s civilian space program and for aeronautical and aerospace research. Established in 1958 by the National Aeronautics and Space Act, NASA leads the US in space exploration efforts, including the Apollo moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle program.

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  OSIRIS-REx
  Launched in 2016, the Origin, Spectral Imaging, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will help astronomers investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as our understanding of near-Earth asteroids to improve.

  ” data-gt-translate-attributes = “({” attribute=”” tabindex=”0″ role=”link”>OSIRIS-REx The mission revealed dust rich in carbon, nitrogen and organic compounds, all essential ingredients for life as we know it. The sample is dominated by clay minerals, particularly serpentine, which represents the type of rock found in mid-ocean ridges on Earth.

• The magnesium-sodium phosphate found in the sample suggests that the asteroid may have split off from ancient, small, primitive ocean life. The phosphate surprised the team because the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft had not found the mineral while in Benno.
• Although a similar phosphate was found in the sample supplied by the asteroid Ryugu
  JAXA
  Founded in 2003, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was born through the merger of three institutions, namely the Institute of Space Science and Astronomy (ISAS), the Japan National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) and the Japan National Space Development Agency. (NASDA). JAXA carries out a variety of aerospace-related activities, from basic research in the aerospace field to development and use and is responsible for research, technology development, and launching satellites into orbit, and is involved in advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration . the moon.

  ” data-gt-translate-attributes = “({” attribute=”” tabindex=”0″ role=”link”>JAXA(Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Hayabusa2 mission in 2020, the magnesium-sodium phosphate identified in the Benu sample is remarkable for its purity (ie, absence of other materials in the mineral) and its grain size, which has never been seen before in any meteorite example.

This mosaic of Benno was created using observations made by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft which has been in close proximity to the asteroid for over two years Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

Discoveries from the composition of the asteroid Bennu

Scientists are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to dig into the pristine 4.3-ounce (121.6-gram) Bennu asteroid sample collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origin, Spectral Imaging, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer) mission since delivery to the Earth. last fall. They hoped that the secret material would hold the history of the solar system and the prebiotic chemistry that could establish the origin of life on Earth. Meteorology and Planetary ScienceProving that this excitement was justified.

The OSIRIS-REx sample analysis team discovered that our son contains the original ingredients that formed our solar system. The asteroid dust is rich in carbon and nitrogen, as well as organic compounds, all essential components of life as we know it. The sample also contains magnesium-sodium phosphate, which surprised the research team, as it was not visible in the remote sensing data collected by the Beno spacecraft. Its presence in the sample suggests that the asteroid may have split off from a tiny, long-gone oceanic world.

A view of eight sample trays containing the final material from asteroid Beno. The dust and rocks poured into the trays from the top plate of the TAGSAM head. 51.2 grams were collected from this spill, bringing the final mass of the asteroid sample to 121.6 grams. Credit: NASA/Erika Blumenfeld and Joseph Ibersold

Analysis of the Bennu sample revealed interesting insights into the composition of the asteroid. The sample is dominated by clay minerals, particularly serpentine, which represents the type of rock found in mid-ocean ridges on Earth, where material from the mantle, the layer beneath the Earth’s crust, comes across water.

This interaction not only creates clay; It also forms various minerals such as carbonates, iron oxides and iron sulphide. But the most unexpected discovery is the presence of water-soluble phosphates. These compounds are components of the biochemistry for all life known on earth today.

While a similar phosphate was found in the Ryugu asteroid sample delivered by JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Hayabusa2 mission in 2020, the magnesium-sodium phosphate identified in the Bennu sample is notable for its purity—that is, the absence of material other i. the mineral — and its grain size, which has never before been seen in any sample

A small portion of the Bennu asteroid sample returned by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, shown in magnified view microscope images of part of the fragment split along a bright vein, captured by scanning electron microscopy Credit: Lauretta & Connolly et al. Meteorology and Planetary Sciencedoi:10.1111/maps.14227

The results of magnesium-sodium phosphates in the Benu sample raise questions about the geochemical processes that concentrated these elements and provide important clues about Benu’s historical conditions.

“The presence and condition of phosphates, as well as other elements and compounds on our son, indicate a watery past for the asteroid,” said Dante Loretta, co-author of the paper and principal investigator for OSIRIS-REx at the University of Arizona. Tucson. “Beno could once have been part of a wetter life. However, this hypothesis needs further investigation.”

“OSIRIS-REx gave us exactly what we hoped for: a large, pristine nitrogen- and carbon-rich asteroid sample from a once wet world,” said Jason Dworkin, co-author of the paper and OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA Goddard. Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft leaves the surface of asteroid Benu after collecting a sample Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/CI/SVS Laboratory

Despite the possible history of interaction with water, Bennu remains a chemically primitive asteroid, with elemental proportions very similar to those of the Sun.

“The sample we returned is the largest reservoir of unchanged asteroid material on Earth right now,” said Loretta.

This vehicle provides a glimpse into the earliest days of our solar system, over 4.5 billion years ago. These rocks have preserved their original state, they have not melted or recrystallized since their formation, which confirms their ancient origin.

The team confirmed that the asteroid is rich in carbon and nitrogen. These elements are essential to understanding the environments in which our matter was formed and the chemical processes that changed simple elements into complex molecules, which could lay the foundation for life on Earth.

“These results show the importance of collecting and studying material from asteroids like us – especially low-density material that normally burns up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere,” said Loretta. “This material holds the key to the development of the complex processes involved in the formation of the solar system and the prebiotic chemistry that may have contributed to life emerging on Earth.”

Dozens of additional laboratories in the United States and around the world will receive pieces of the Benu sample from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in the coming months, and many more scientific papers describing analyzes of the Benu sample are expected in the coming years. coming from the OSIRIS-REx sample analysis Team.

“The Bennu samples are extremely beautiful extraterrestrial rocks,” said Harold Connolly, lead author of the paper and OSIRIS-REx mission sample scientist at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. “Each week, analysis by the OSIRIS-REx sample analysis team provides new and sometimes surprising results that help place important constraints on the origin and evolution of Earth-like planets.”

Launched on September 8, 2016, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft traveled to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu and collected a sample of rocks and dust from the surface. OSIRIS-REx, the first US mission to collect a sample from an asteroid, delivered the sample to Earth on September 24, 2023.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland provided overall mission management, systems engineering, and mission safety and assurance for OSIRIS-REx Dante Loretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator for the science observation design and processing missions The details. International partnerships on this mission include the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter instrument from CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and an asteroid sampling science collaboration with JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers program, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.