# Asteroid Bennu's Sample Delivers Another Surprise

Source: [Universe Today](https://www.universetoday.com/articles/asteroid-bennus-sample-delivers-another-surprise) · 2026-11-12 · Space
Page: https://themorning.science/story/asteroid-bennu-s-sample-delivers-another-surprise-f876a56b424c8031
Kind: research · Impact: medium

## In brief

- Researchers compared samples from asteroid Bennu with the Murchison meteorite and measured the amino acid β-alanine in both.
- Using new techniques, they measured the isotopic compositions of the samples and isotopic differences between individual atoms within the same molecule.
- The source reports these measurements as a further surprise from the Bennu sample but does not give the specific results in the excerpt provided.

## Why it matters

The comparison of Bennu and Murchison samples, using finer isotopic measurements, bears on how amino acids in extraterrestrial material formed and on what meteorites can reveal about the origins of prebiotic chemistry.

## Coverage

- [Asteroid Bennu's Sample Delivers Another Surprise](https://www.universetoday.com/articles/asteroid-bennus-sample-delivers-another-surprise) — Universe Today, 2026-11-12

Tags: asteroid bennu, beta-alanine, meteorites, amino acids, isotopes, astrobiology

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science