A view of the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector. Sample material from asteroid Bennu can be seen on the middle right.
Image courtecy of NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold)
What is that
material?': Potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu stumps scientists with its odd
makeup.
Scientists found
signs of organic molecules in the first samples of potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu, as well as a 'head scratching'
material that has yet to be identified.
Some scientist say
that the asteroid Bennu has organic molecules. Tasked with finding clues about
origins of life on Earth, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft scooped up
pieces of a rugged, rubble-pile asteroid named Bennu in late 2020 and
delivered them to Earth about two months ago. On
Monday (Dec. 11), scientists got their first detailed description of some of
that extraterrestrial collection.
Some scientist
say, "We definitely have hydrated, organic-rich remnants from the
early solar system, which is exactly what we were hoping when we first
conceived this mission almost 20 years ago."
They said that Bennu
has since its discovery is millions of years old.
Source:
Sharmila Kuthunur. 2023. 'What is that material?': Potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu stumps scientists with its odd makeup | Live Science 13 December.
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