The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) analyses the samples from asteroid Bennu, unveiling a complex history of transformation and a surprisingly diverse origin.
On the return of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, the administration shared the findings, releasing three new scientific papers.
It has been discovered that the asteroid is composed of materials forged both near the Sun and in interstellar space, all of which have been altered by water and billions of years of exposure in space.
The analysis highlights that the asteroid was formed from the fragments of a much larger parent asteroid that was destroyed in a collision.
The parent asteroid is claimed to be a cosmic mosaic that accumulates from different parts of the early solar system.
Scientists also found presolar dust in the composition of the asteroid, alongside organic matter likely formed in interstellar space, and minerals of high temperature likely to have originated near the Sun.
Ann Nguyen of NASA’s Johnson Space Center stated, “We found stardust grains with compositions that predate the solar system, organic matter that likely formed in interstellar space, and high temperature minerals that formed closer to the Sun. All of these constituents were transported great distances to the region that Bennu’s parent asteroid formed.”
Although these ancient materials survived, the asteroid underwent intense changes. Minerals are dissolved and reformed in the Bennu after repeated interactions with water. The study found that 80% of the sample consists of water-bearing minerals.
There are multiple scars seen on the surface of the asteroid resulting from a relentless bombardment by micrometeorites. This process is also known as space weathering, which occurs much faster than previously thought.
These findings are highly significant as they aid in revealing mysteries of asteroid formation that survive violent trips through Earth’s atmosphere.