Samples of asteroid Bennu contain molecules that suggest the "conditions necessary for life" were widespread across the early solar system, according to NASA.

New insights from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission have unveiled intriguing clues about the potential origins of life on Earth. The mission, which launched in Septembe

Bennu samples brought back by a University of Arizona-led space mission contain the key ingredients of life and signs of the stew needed to mix them.

Samples of organic matter returned from the asteroid Bennu support the theory that asteroids could have brought the building blocks of life to Earth.

This artist’s concept shows NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid’s surface. NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona Scientists studying the sample collected in 2023 from asteroid Bennu have announced a dramatic finding: they have identified the key building blocks of life within the sample.

The building blocks for life, including salts, organic matter and amino acids have been found in samples returned to Earth from outer space.

NASA scientists found amino acids, key minerals, and nucleobases for DNA in samples from the OSIRIS-REx asteroid mission. It's a win for alien life.

Researchers say the asteroid Bennu has the building blocks for life on it. The samples collected and returned to Earth were part of the University of Arizona-led OSIRS-REx mission.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Asteroid samples fetched by NASA hold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world, scientists reported Wednesday.

The planet that the asteroid was once a part of contained a salty ocean. Scientists found 11 minerals in the samples, but more importantly, they found 14 out of 20 key building blocks for life -- at least, life as we know it on Earth. In other words, the odds of finding life out there are increasing.

A capsule carrying about a half cup of dust and rocks from an ancient asteroid named Bennu landed in the Utah desert in 2023. The samples were collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, which sent a probe to rendezvous with Bennu in outer space.