On Wednesday, NASA revealed the first look at samples returned from asteroid Bennu through its OSIRIS-REx mission. Scientists performed an early analysis of the asteroid sample and found an abundance of carbon and water molecules, supporting the theory that the building blocks of life may have made their way to Earth via asteroids.
“This is the biggest carbon-rich asteroid sample returned to Earth,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during the event at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Carbon and water molecules are exactly the kinds of material that we wanted to find, crucial elements in the formation of our own planet and they’re going to help us determine the origin of elements that could have led to life.”
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