NASA reveals discovery of "Space gum" in samples from asteroid Bennu

New analyses of material brought back from the asteroid Bennu continue to illuminate the early history of the solar system. Scientists examining the fragments returned by NASAs OSIRIS-REx mission in 2020 have identified sugars and an unusual gum-like substance never before observed in extraterrestrial samples, the agency announced.

These findings and their potential to explain how the ingredients for life first emerged are detailed in three studies released Tuesday in Nature Geoscience and Nature Astronomy.

The first study, led by Yoshihiro Furukawa of Tohoku University, highlights sugars discovered within the Bennu material. These sugars are considered essential components for biological processes on Earth.

The second study, headed by Scott Sandford of NASAs Ames Research Center and Zack Gainsforth of the University of California, Berkeley, describes the newly discovered ancient space gum. Researchers propose that this sticky material could have helped spark early chemical reactions crucial to the origin of life.

The third study, directed by Ann Nguyen of NASAs Johnson Space Center, investigates dust originating from two distinct rock types collected by OSIRIS-REx. These particles trace their origins to stars older than the solar system itself.

Clues to the earliest chemistry

Each study isolates a different clue from Bennu that may explain how the solar system and ultimately life on Earth emerged. NASA noted that the sugars and previously detected amino acids do not indicate direct evidence of life, but they do demonstrate that key building blocks for biological molecules once existed widely throughout the young solar system.

Some of the simple molecules needed to form DNA and RNA the latter a critical messenger that encodes and decodes genetic information were identified in the samples. Furukawa emphasized that the sugars support a theory suggesting early life on Earth may have relied on simpler mechanisms based primarily on RNA-like molecules.

Life today depends on complex systems, he explained. But its earliest stages may have been much more basic.

A mysterious ancient material

The peculiar space gum, never before detected in cosmic material, likely formed during the earliest phases of the solar system, according to NASA. The agency noted that its molecular components may have supplied some of the chemical precursors that influenced the emergence of life on Earth.

Sandford described the substance as a vital clue: On this primitive asteroid, formed at the dawn of the solar system, we may be witnessing one of the earliest chemical alterations that this rock ever underwent.

Origins of Bennu

The new research also explores how Bennu itself formed. Like many asteroids, it is a leftover fragment from the solar systems formation. Scientists found that dust in two separate samples appears to have been thoroughly mixed before the solar system came together. Because of its high concentration in the returned fragments, NASA suggests Bennu may have formed in a region rich in dust from dying stars.

Author: Grace Ellison