Japanese collaborators detected all five nucleobases — building blocks of DNA and RNA — in samples returned from asteroid Bennu by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. Asteroids, small airless bodies within the ...

Pristine samples of asteroid Bennu have revealed something entirely unexpected — not only does the asteroid contain the chemical building blocks of life, but it also originated from an ancient, ...

This figure illustrates key molecules and minerals discovered in samples of near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu, which were delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in September 2023. Bennu is a ...

A groundbreaking study recently published in the Planetary Science Journalhas raised the possibility that asteroids Bennu, Ryugu, and Polana may all be fragments of a common parent body. The paper, ...

Bennu and Ryugu are considered near-Earth asteroids because they orbit the sun within the orbit of Mars; however, they are not considered a danger to Earth, having a closest approach of about 1.9 and ...

The asteroid Bennu continues to provide new clues to scientists' biggest questions about the formation of the early solar system and the origins of life. As part of the ongoing study of pristine ...

The OSIRIS-REx mission collected a sample from the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) 101955 Bennu, revealing its "rubble pile" structure and composition, including potential biogenic components. Bennu is ...

In September 2016 NASA will launch a very special mission. The target: near-Earth asteroid 101955 Bennu. The primary objective of the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and ...

Drouet D'Aubigny, C. Y. Edmundson, K. L. Fornasier, S. Hamilton, V. E. Hasselmann, P. H. Hergenrother, C. W. Howell, E. S. Jawin, Erica R. Kaplan, H. H. Le Corre, L ...

(Nanowerk News) Rock and dust samples brought back from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu contain organic matter, including amino acids and all five DNA and RNA bases, as well as salts that formed early ...