Bennu’s Ancient Waters: Asteroid Samples and the Chemical Origins of Life
When
Where
Dr. Dante Lauretta
Regents Professor, Department of Planetary Sciences
Director, Arizona Astrobiology Center
University of Arizona
Bennu’s Ancient Waters: Asteroid Samples and the Chemical Origins of Life
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission returned samples from asteroid Bennu to Earth, giving scientists an unprecedented look at material preserved from the earliest history of the solar system. Analyses show that Bennu’s parent body was once rich in water and hosted chemical reactions that produced a remarkable diversity of minerals and organic compounds. These materials include ingredients relevant to the emergence of life, offering new clues about how asteroids may have delivered water and prebiotic chemistry to the young Earth. This lecture will trace the journey to Bennu, the return of its samples, and the discoveries that are reshaping our understanding of how habitable worlds and the chemistry that led to life came to be.