NASA has shown soil from the asteroid Bennu for the first time. Carbon and water were found in it

NASA live showed soil samples from the asteroid Bennuwho last month delivered interplanetary station OSIRIS-REx. The process of extracting cosmic matter is complicated by its large amount - there were about 400 grams in the capsule instead of the planned 60-250.

Preliminary analysis revealed large amounts of carbon and evidence of water in the clay minerals. Before this, astronomers also found out that there are fragments of the asteroid Vesta on the surface of this space object.

Bennu is recognized as a potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroid, with a diameter of about 500 meters. Because of its impressive size and proximity to Earth, it is called a “doomsday asteroid.” The OSIRIS-REx station has been studying it since 2018. During this mission, she managed to obtain a soil sample.

In 2021, the interplanetary probe headed back to Earth, and on September 24, 2023, it delivered a capsule with the extracted resource to Earth. NASA later reported that it had discovered black dust elements inside its external unit. The work of the station itself did not end there. She set off on a new journey - to the asteroid Apophis.

Scientists believe that studying Bennu will allow us to better understand the nature of potentially dangerous asteroids, and will also allow us to learn more about the origins of the Solar System.