Oct 16, 2020 · Bennu is a carbonaceous asteroid that hasn’t undergone drastic, composition-altering change, meaning that on and below its deeper-than-pitch-black surface are chemicals and rocks from the birth of the solar system.

Jan 29, 2025 · Studies of rock and dust from asteroid Bennu delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security–Regolith Explorer) spacecraft have revealed molecules that, on our planet, are key to life, as well as a history of saltwater that could have served as the “broth” for these ...

Feb 10, 2025 · Bennu is a carbon-rich asteroid that is about one-third of a mile (half a kilometer) wide at its equator. An ancient relic of our solar system’s early days, asteroid Bennu has seen more than 4.5 billion years of history.

Feb 10, 2025 · Bennu is a relatively small asteroid that passes close to Earth about every six years. Bennu was the target of NASA's OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid and deliver it to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023. Bennu is about one-third of a …

Nearly 60 years later, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission returned from space with a sample of an asteroid named Bennu, similar to the one that rained rocks over Revelstoke. Our research team has published a chemical analysis of those samples, providing insight into how some of the ingredients for life may have first arrived on Earth.

4 days ago · 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 life’s origins continues! Watch the video below to explore this discovery in detail, or head to our YouTube channel to watch Amino Acids on Bennu!

Feb 14, 2025 · Bennu’s parent asteroid, which formed around 4.5 billion years ago, was home to pockets of liquid water. This water evaporated and left behind brines that resemble the salty crusts of dry lakebeds on Earth; this is the first time that some of these compounds have been observed in extraterrestrial samples. The discovery suggests that ...

6 days ago · According to the Nature Astronomy paper on the organic makeup of Bennu Sample s, “Bennu samples are volatile rich, with more carbon, nitrogen and ammonia than samples from asteroid Ryugu and ...

Mar 17, 2025 · Scientists at Berkeley Lab are unraveling the mysteries of Bennu, a 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid, using cutting-edge technology. The asteroid harbors traces of ancient briny water, salty minerals, and even organic molecules – potential clues to life’s origins. Researchers are using X-ray and ele

Jan 29, 2025 · Bennu coalesced from a small portion of the leftover rubble resulting from a giant collision of asteroids. Preserved in the vacuum of space since the solar system's formation about 4.5 billion years ago, the samples have provided scientists with unparalleled insights into the conditions of that era.