NASA's OSIRIS-REx Reveals Surprising Organic Compounds from Asteroid Bennu

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has revealed significant findings from asteroid Bennu, including the presence of bio-essential sugars and a unique polymer described as 'space gum.' According to lead scientist Yoshihiro Furukawa from Tohoku University, this discovery supports the RNA-world hypothesis, indicating that all components necessary to form RNA, including ribose and all five nucleobases, are present in the samples.

In addition to these organic compounds, the samples contained unusually high levels of supernova-origin dust and preserved presolar grains, which have remained unchanged for billions of years, suggesting that complex organic materials formed early on Bennu's parent body.

These findings have been documented in three papers published in the journals Nature Geosciences and Nature Astronomy, with further details provided in a NASA video published on YouTube.