NASA acquired pieces of a 4.6 billion-year-old asteroid: “Scientific treasure”

The American space agency NASA demonstrated the first samples of asteroids delivered by a spacecraft. The ancient black dust and debris was collected three years ago from the asteroid Bennu, located nearly 60 million miles from our planet.

Pieces of a 4.6-billion-year-old asteroid returned to Earth last month show evidence of high carbon and water content, NASA said Wednesday as the space agency released preliminary results from its groundbreaking Osiris-Rex mission.

According to The Guardian, scientists have been analyzing samples from the asteroid Bennu since they were dropped to Earth by a spacecraft flying over the Utah desert on September 24. Principal investigator Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona in Tucson tells reporters at Houston’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) that the samples recovered from space are a “scientific treasure.”

The carbon-rich fragments of the asteroid, the largest such object ever discovered, will “help scientists explore the origins of life on our own planet for generations to come,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.

The researchers also announced that the mission, which brought the samples back to Earth after a three-year, nearly 60 million-mile journey, was even more successful than initially thought.

The mission’s initial goal was to collect just over 2 ounces (60 g) of asteroid material, which would be examined by storage experts in JSC’s new clean rooms built specifically for the mission.

But when the container lid was first opened, scientists discovered “additional asteroidal material” covering the outer surface of the collector head, container lid and base. According to NASA, there was so much additional material that it delayed the detailed process of collecting and storing the primary sample.

“It happened slowly and carefully,” noted Dante Loretta, who told a news conference that black dust and particles were scattered around the outer edge of the chamber. “This is already a scientific treasure.”

So far, only “cursory” analysis has been carried out, including scanning electron microscope imaging, infrared measurements, X-ray diffraction and elemental analysis.

X-ray computed tomography was also used to create a 3D computer model of one of the particles, highlighting its varied interior, according to NASA. It was this early analysis that showed the presence of large amounts of carbon and water in the sample.

Bill Nelson emphasized that the research conducted to date is only a preliminary assessment and that the real work is about to begin.

“Almost everything we do at NASA is aimed at answering questions about who we are and where we come from. Missions like Osiris-Rex will improve our understanding of asteroids that could threaten Earth and give us insight into what lies beyond, he said. “The sample has arrived on Earth, but there is still so much science ahead… like we have never seen before.”

Rocks and dust from the asteroid will be studied “for decades,” according to a NASA press release accompanying the discovery. The statement says they will “provide insight into how our solar system formed, how precursor materials to life may have been seeded on Earth, and what precautions must be taken to avoid asteroid impacts on our home planet.”

“The abundance of carbon-rich material and the abundant presence of water-bearing clay minerals are just the tip of the cosmic iceberg,” says Dante Loretta. “These discoveries, made possible by years of dedicated collaboration and cutting-edge scientific advances, push us toward understanding not only our celestial environment, but also the potential for life to emerge.” With each revelation from Bennu, we move closer to unraveling the mysteries of our cosmic heritage.”

Over the next two years, scientists will continue to “characterize” the samples. At least 70% of them will remain at JSC for further study by experts from the United States and around the world. Additional samples will be provided to the Smithsonian Institution, Space Center Houston and the University of Arizona for public display.

Meanwhile, the Osiris-Rex mission, managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, continues. After dropping Bennu samples, the spacecraft has resumed its bid to hit the asteroid Apophis in 2029, when it will make its closest approach to Earth.

Apophis was thought to pose a threat to Earth in 2068, but two years ago the asteroid was removed from the European Space Agency’s “risk list.”