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Guardian
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Image Credit: Guardian
‘It blew us away’: how an asteroid may have delivered the vital ingredients for life on Earth
- A recent study in Nature revealed that minerals from the asteroid Bennu, collected by the US space probe OSIRIS-REx, contain complex chemicals crucial for life.
- The diversity of molecules and minerals found in the Bennu samples is unique for extraterrestrial samples, according to Prof Sara Russell.
- The upcoming Natural History Museum exhibition will showcase recent developments in the search for life beyond Earth.
- Bennu's material is rich in the basic chemical building blocks necessary for life, hinting at its potential in seeding life on Earth and possibly on other worlds.
- OSIRIS-REx's samples contained phosphates, ammonia, amino acids, and nucleobase building blocks, suggesting asteroid impacts may have delivered ingredients for life on Earth.
- Other promising worlds like Mars and moons of Jupiter and Saturn are being explored for signs of life, with upcoming missions heading towards Europa, Ganymede, Titan, and Enceladus.
- A UK-built Rosalind Franklin robot rover is set to land on Mars in 2029 to search for evidence of life by drilling deep into the soil.
- The exhibition will feature samples of lunar and Martian material, as well as meteorites, including a rock older than Earth itself.
- Recent discoveries on the exoplanet K2-18b, hinting at chemical fingerprints of potential life, have raised hopes for the existence of life beyond Earth.
- The search for alien life will continue, with the possibility of easier study and collection of alien lifeforms within our solar system compared to distant exoplanets.
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