Research
Bennu asteroid analysis suggests unexpected origins for organics in space
Phys.org ·
The Brief
- New research reports that samples from the Bennu asteroid and the Murchison meteorite both contain molecules that build proteins necessary for life.
- The research suggests organics in these samples may have unexpected origins.
- Bennu is currently more than 200 million miles (322 million kilometers) from Earth, and the Murchison meteorite fell to Earth in 1969.
Why it matters
The findings bear on where the molecular building blocks of life come from, which is a central question for astrobiology and the study of extraterrestrial samples.
Who’s affected
- astrobiologists
- planetary scientists
- #asteroids
- #organics
- #astrobiology
- #meteorites
- #bennu
Samples from the Bennu asteroid, which is currently more than 200 million miles (322 million kilometers) from Earth, and the Murchison meteorite, which fell to Earth in 1969, both contain molecules that build proteins necessary for life. New research has found that the molecules…