Scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have revealed the composition of samples from asteroid Bennu obtained during the OSIRIS-REx mission and delivered to Earth in late September. The report was published on the official channel Web site Space Agency.
According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, the sample contains large amounts of water, carbonaceous materials and organic molecules. The carbon concentration in Bennu’s soil was 4.7%.
“The OSIRIS-REx sample is the largest carbon-rich asteroid sample ever returned to Earth and will help scientists explore the origins of life on our planet for generations to come,” said Bill Nelson.
Dante Lauretta, the scientist at the head of the OSIRIS-REx mission, stated that the discovered water was found in minerals, which supports the hypothesis that water may have reached Earth with a similar asteroid.
The automatic station OSIRIS-Rex was launched in 2016. The device spent eight years in space and traveled approximately 6.5 billion kilometers.
Previously at NASA said On nitrogen purging of samples from asteroid Bennu.