NASA โFinds “Space Gum” and โBio-Essential Sugars in Asteroid Bennu Samples, Offering Clues to โคOrigins of Life
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – NASA scientists have discovered aโ unique, gummy substance โขand bio-essential โsugars within samples โขcollected from โฃasteroid Bennu, potentially shedding light โon teh chemical โคbuilding blocks that may have seeded life on Earth. โThe findings, announced today,โ represent a meaningful step forwardโข in understanding the early solar system and the originsโ of organicโข molecules crucial forโค life.
The mysterious material, never โฃbefore observed in cosmic rocks, was found alongsideโ ribose and other sugars – components of DNA and RNAโฃ – within samples returned to โขEarth in โSeptember 2023.Researchersโค believe thisโ “space gum” formed โขinโ the solarโข system’s infancy and could have provided key precursors for the development of life. The finding fuels ongoing investigationsโ into how life began on our planet and the โpotential for life elsewhere in the universe.
“Present day life โis โbased on a complex system,” said a NASA โresearcher. “However, early life may have โคbeenโ simpler.”
The samples from Bennu,โ a carbon-rich asteroid, are providing an unprecedented โlookโฃ at theโข solar system’s early chemistry. According to NASA, the molecules โwithin the “space gum” “could have provided some of the โchemical precursors that helped triggerโฃ life on Earth.” Scientists are particularlyโค interestedโ in the substance as it represents one of the earliest alterations to the asteroid’s material.
“With this strange substance,we’re looking โat,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 โdays of the solarโ system, we’reโ looking at events near the beginning ofโ the beginning.”
Further analysis โฃof the Bennuโค samples also suggests the asteroidโข formedโฃ in a region enriched with dust โfrom dying stars. The high concentration of this dust indicates it was well-mixed duringโ the solar โฃsystem’s formation, offering insights intoโค the conditions present during thatโ period. Bennu,โ like other asteroids, is considered a remnant from theโ solar system’s nascent stage.
