Huge leap in search for aliens after ‘building blocks for LIFE’ found on ancient asteroid Bennu from lost watery world
HUMANS have come a step closer to finding aliens after the “building blocks for life” were discovered by scientists on an asteroid.
NASA’s Osiris Rex spacecraft had grabbed parts of the ancient Bennu asteroid and uncovered a rich set of minerals and compounds which could show signs of life.
The spacecraft collected samples from this ancient space object on 20 October 2020.
Scientists started examining the samples after the craft landed back on Earth in October 2023.
Two years of tests revealed the extraordinary discovery made from this ancient asteroid.
Bennu is a special space find as it is carbon rich and in close proximity to Earth – meaning it could allow us to look into the early stages of our Solar System.
Several crucial components for life were discovered in the spoon-sized amount of dust taken from the asteroid.
Part of this included some of the “building blocks of life”.
Firstly, scientists found 14 of the 20 amino acids that are used to make life on Earth.
Amino acids are important as they form proteins which living beings use for nearly every movement or bodily function.
A high abundance of ammonia and formaldehyde were also found, which react together to form amino acids.
Researchers also discovered all five nucleobases needed to make DNA and RNA.
Another remarkable discovery from Bennu’s samples could indicate that water was once present on the rock.
Salt minerals, which form when water evaporates from brine, were also present.
This is key as a wet environment is absolutely necessary to form life.
These remarkable discoveries do not confirm that life ever existed on Bennu or in the early Solar System.
Despite this, scientists revealed how this discovery could be a huge step in figuring out whether alien life ever existed, according to BBC Science Focus.
Sean McMahon, the co-director of the UK Centre for Astrobiology, said: We often talk about building blocks of life.
“As life seems to have originated on Earth, the question is how many of these building blocks for life came from processes on Earth and how many of them came from extraterrestrial material?”
He added: “If these blocks of life on Earth did come from extraterrestrial material, they could have also landed elsewhere in the Solar System.
“If these building blocks are found in asteroids, there is every chance they were delivered to early Mars for example.”