Bennu Sample: Scientists have recently revealed that these rocks contain key components of life - Amino acids, nucleobases and traces of ancient saltwater — the essential ingredients for biological processes.
o Bennu, a relic from the dawn of the solar system, contained organic molecules and minerals that may have shaped life’s chemistry.
o The mission successfully returned samples from Bennu to Earth in 2023.
o These samples help to understand the ingredients that existed before life started on Earth.
o They also have all five nucleobases required for DNA and RNA.
o Bennu’s samples contain traces of water in the form of mineral salts.
o Scientists detected 11 different evaporite minerals, including calcite, halite, sylvite, and trona (first identified in an extraterrestrial sample).
o These minerals suggest Bennu once had briny water that evaporated over thousands or millions of years.
o Similar salty water exists on Saturn’s moon Enceladus and the dwarf planet Ceres.
o This strengthens the theory that watery environments were widespread in the early solar system, facilitating chemical reactions leading to life.