NASA Finds “Space Gum” and Bio-Essential Sugars in Asteroid Bennu Samples, Offering Clues to Origins of Life
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – NASA scientists have discovered a unique, gummy substance and bio-essential sugars within samples collected from asteroid Bennu, potentially shedding light on teh chemical building blocks that may have seeded life on Earth. The findings, announced today, represent a meaningful step forward in understanding the early solar system and the origins of organic molecules crucial for life.
The mysterious material, never before observed in cosmic rocks, was found alongside ribose and other sugars – components of DNA and RNA – within samples returned to Earth in September 2023.Researchers believe this “space gum” formed in the solar system’s infancy and could have provided key precursors for the development of life. The finding fuels ongoing investigations into how life began on our planet and the potential for life elsewhere in the universe.
“Present day life is based on a complex system,” said a NASA researcher. “However, early life may have been simpler.”
The samples from Bennu, a carbon-rich asteroid, are providing an unprecedented look at the solar system’s early chemistry. According to NASA, the molecules within the “space gum” “could have provided some of the chemical precursors that helped trigger life on Earth.” Scientists are particularly interested in the substance as it represents one of the earliest alterations to the asteroid’s material.
“With this strange substance,we’re looking at,quite possibly,one of the earliest alterations of materials that occured in this rock,” said Sandford,who co-led the research. “On this primitive asteroid that formed in the early days of the solar system, we’re looking at events near the beginning of the beginning.”
Further analysis of the Bennu samples also suggests the asteroid formed in a region enriched with dust from dying stars. The high concentration of this dust indicates it was well-mixed during the solar system’s formation, offering insights into the conditions present during that period. Bennu, like other asteroids, is considered a remnant from the solar system’s nascent stage.
