Scientists studying samples from the asteroid Bennu have found that it contains a remarkable mix of materials — some of which formed long before the sun even existed. "It's very fascinating to see ...

Since its discovery in 1999, the near-Earth asteroid Bennu has captivated scientists as a time capsule from the early solar system — and also as a key to possibly understanding the origins of life. To ...

Talk about a sugar rush! NASA may have just come a little closer to cracking one of science’s most enduring mysteries — how life on Earth got started. The space agency has reportedly discovered ...

Researchers discovered sugars essential for biology, including glucose, in the asteroid material for the first time. A strange, pliable substance nicknamed "space gum" was also found, which could have ...

Three publications by the UA-led OSIRIS-REx sample analysis team reveal the asteroid's composition and history in unprecedented detail. (Nanowerk News) Asteroid Bennu — the target of NASA's OSIRIS-REx ...

NASA scientists say they have finally pinned down why asteroid Bennu looks so jagged and chaotic up close. Images and measurements from the OSIRIS-REx mission show that relentless sunlight, swinging ...

Tryptophan, the essential amino acid behind the Thanksgiving myth that eating turkey can make you sleepy, has been found to exist on Bennu, a small asteroid that swings by our planet about every six ...

Scientists studying Bennu samples have discovered that its chemistry is far from uniform. Organic compounds and minerals cluster into three distinct types of regions, each shaped differently by past ...

Dust from asteroid Bennu is revealing a surprising origin story for life’s building blocks. New research suggests some amino acids formed in frozen ice exposed to radiation, not warm liquid water as ...