OSIRIS-REx Archives

A mosaic image of asteroid Bennu, composed of 12 PolyCam images collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 24 kilometers. (NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona)

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

Life’s Building Blocks Discovered In Samples From Asteroid Bennu

by Keith CowingJanuary 30, 2025September 18, 2025

Japanese collaborators detected all five nucleobases — building blocks of DNA and RNA — in samples returned from asteroid Bennu by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission.

Mg, Na phosphate occurs with Mg phyllosilicates largely free of micron-sized sulfide inclusions. The Mg,Na phosphate–Mg phyllosilicate veins rim large dolomite (Dol) grains that include magnetite (multielement Kα X-ray map; sample no. OREX-803085-100). Scale bar, 200 μm. -- Nature

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return

Pristine Asteroid Samples Reveal Secrets Of The Ancient Solar System

by Keith CowingJanuary 30, 2025January 30, 2025

Curtin University researchers have gained an unprecedented glimpse into the early history of our solar system through some of the most well-preserved asteroid samples ever collected, potentially transforming our understanding […]

Canister containing material collected from asteroid Bennu placed inside the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Univ. of Arizona/Lockheed Martin

Exploring The Mysteries Of Asteroid Bennu

by Keith CowingJanuary 30, 2025January 30, 2025

During the past year, there’s been an unusual set of samples at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab): material gathered from the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu when […]

a, Summed mass spectrum acquired from several ~100 μm grains mounted on a KBr window with mass peaks for ammonia (NH3), sodium (Na), formaldehyde (H2C=O), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and potassium (K) indicated. Spectrum acquired by μ-L2MS using a vacuum UV photoionization at 118 nm. b, Optical mosaic of particle with yellow box demarking region mapped by μ-L2MS. c, Spatial map of ammonia distribution overlaid over optical image. The μ-L2MS laser beam spot size was 5 μm. -- Nature Astronomy

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return

Dust From asteroid Bennu: Building Blocks Of Life And Possible Habitats Were Widespread In Our Solar System

by Keith CowingJanuary 30, 2025January 30, 2025

It took two years for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx space probe to return from asteroid Bennu before dropping off a small capsule as it flew past Earth, which was then recovered in […]

Scanning electron microscope images of trona found in samples of the asteroid Bennu returned by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. -- Credit Rob Wardell, Tim Gooding and Tim McCoy, Smithsonian.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return

Traces Of Ancient Brine Discovered On Asteroid Bennu Contain Minerals Crucial To Life

by Keith CowingJanuary 30, 2025January 30, 2025

A new analysis of samples from the asteroid Bennu, NASA’s first asteroid sample captured in space and delivered to Earth, reveals that evaporated water left a briny broth where salts […]

In this video frame, Jason Dworkin holds up a vial that contains part of the sample from asteroid Bennu delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer) mission in 2023. Dworkin is the mission’s project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Credit: NASA/James Tralie

Asteroid Bennu Sample Reveals A Mix Of Life’s Ingredients

by Keith CowingJanuary 29, 2025January 30, 2025

Studies of rock and dust from asteroid Bennu delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security–Regolith Explorer) spacecraft have revealed molecules that, on our planet, […]

Jason Dworkin, project scientist for OSIRIS-REx at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, views a portion of the asteroid Bennu sample in the center’s astrobiology lab under microscope in November 2023, shortly after it arrived from the curation team at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA/Molly Wasser

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Sample Return

NASA Media Briefing On OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Mission Findings

by Keith CowingJanuary 24, 2025January 24, 2025

NASA will brief media at 11 a.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 29, to provide an update on science results from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith […]

Astrobiology (general), Career Opportunities, Education and Outreach, People Of Astrobiology, Status Report

Join The University of Arizona Astrobiology Ambassadors

by Keith CowingJanuary 22, 2025January 22, 2025

All [University of Arizona] students are invited to attend our first meeting of Astrobiology Ambassadors! Dante Lauretta, author, game designer, and principal investigator of the OSIRIS-REx mission, will be speaking […]

A diagram of left-handed and right-handed versions of the amino acid isovaline, found in the Murchison meteorite. NASA

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Astrochemistry: The Mystery of Life’s Handedness Deepens

by Keith CowingNovember 22, 2024November 22, 2024

The mystery of why life uses molecules with specific orientations has deepened with a NASA-funded discovery that RNA — a key molecule thought to have potentially held the instructions for […]

MIT scientists analyzed one of several particles (shown in black) from the asteroid Ryugu, and found evidence that a weak magnetic field likely existed in the outer solar system where the asteroid is thought to have first formed, more than 4.6 billion years ago. Credit Elias Mansbach

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Interstellar, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release

Asteroid Grains Shed Light On The Outer Solar System’s Origins

by Keith CowingNovember 7, 2024November 7, 2024

Tiny grains from a distant asteroid are revealing clues to the magnetic forces that shaped the far reaches of the solar system over 4.6 billion years ago.