SPACE CADETS / LIFE BUILDING BLOCKS FOUND ON BENNU

NASA’s latest space mission has uncovered something fascinating—tiny chemical ingredients that could have helped kickstart life on Earth. Scientists analyzing rock and dust samples from the asteroid Bennu found amino acids and nucleobases, the same molecules that makeup DNA and RNA. 

Bennu is an ancient space rock, a leftover fragment from the early solar system, dating back about 4.5 billion years. 

In 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected samples from the asteroid, and in 2023, a capsule carrying them safely parachuted down into the Utah desert. 

 

Benno, a 60-mile wide asteroid

What Did They Find? 

Researchers discovered that amino acids – essential for building proteins in living organisms. Nucleobases – the key components of DNA and RNA. Signs of salty water (brine) – hint at a past environment where life’s chemistry could have taken shape. 

Scientists have long suspected that asteroids might have delivered the necessary ingredients for life to early Earth. This discovery strengthens that idea. If these organic molecules formed in space and made their way to our planet billions of years ago, they might have helped create the first life forms. 

 However, the samples didn’t contain actual DNA or RNA—just their raw materials. So while Bennu isn’t proof of alien life, it does suggest that the essential ingredients for life are widespread in the solar system. 

 Why It Matters 

Unlike meteorites that land on Earth and risk contamination, these pristine samples from Bennu give scientists a clearer picture of the chemistry of the early solar system. The findings also raise the possibility that life—or its building blocks—could exist elsewhere in space. As scientists analyze the samples, who knows what else they might uncover?