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‘Incredible’ asteroid sample ferried to Earth is rich in the building blocks of life

Samples of asteroid Bennu delivered by the OSIRIS-REx mission contain carbon, water and other ingredients from the primordial Solar System.
  1. Alexandra Witze
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Pieces of the asteroid Bennu, brought back to Earth in September by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, include crumbly rocks and dust that contain water and carbon — some of the building blocks of life on Earth. NASA provided a first glimpse of the rocks, which are the largest asteroid sample ever returned to Earth, on 11 October.

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Nature 622, 439-440 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03178-0

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 12 October 2023: This story has been changed to remove inaccurate information about the amount of material delivered to Earth by other sample-return missions.

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