Asteroid samples from NASA's epic OSIRIS-REx mission show Bennu was born from fire and ice
Analysis of asteroid Bennu samples returned by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission reveals the asteroid formed on the hot-and-cold boundary of the early solar system. Isotope testing shows its elemental composition mirrors the primordial material that formed Earth and the terrestrial planets.
Why it matters
Provides unprecedented scientific insight into the chemical origins of the solar system and how terrestrial planets were assembled 4.5 billion years ago.
The findings also suggest that the material that gave birth to Bennu was representative of the average elemental content of the planet-forming disk that also formed Earth and the planets.
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Click for next article A mosaic image of the asteroid Bennu created by observations made by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. (Image credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona) Copy link Reddit Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The asteroid Bennu was shaped on the boundary between hot and cold in the dusty disk that formed the planets 4.5 billion years ago, meaning the samples brought back from this space rock by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission give us our best look at the primordial material from which the planets assembled.
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