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Bennu Samples Reveal Life's Building Blocks from Space

11/30/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Laboratory analysis confirmed tryptophan in Bennu samples, previously undetected in extraterrestrial samples.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission collected 4.3 ounces from Bennu in 2020 and returned it in 2023.
The analysis raises Bennu's known protein-building amino acids to 15.
The asteroid also contains minerals and ammonia essential for forming life's building blocks.
Experts say the findings support the theory that life's core molecules originated in space.

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Story summary

Laboratory analysis confirmed tryptophan in Bennu samples, previously undetected in extraterrestrial samples.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission collected 4.3 ounces from Bennu in 2020 and returned it in 2023.
The analysis raises Bennu's known protein-building amino acids to 15.
The asteroid also contains minerals and ammonia essential for forming life's building blocks.
Experts say the findings support the theory that life's core molecules originated in space.