Bennu asteroid: more panspermia confirmation data

Scientists have discovered a treasure trove of data during the OSIRIS-REx mission, including the presence of water and traces of organic material, which may well seed life on planets such as our own across the galaxy.

According to Amy Simon, of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, “carbon-bearing, organic material” is littered across Bennu’s surface. These signs indicate that organic material itself is likely to be found when the asteroid samples are returned to Earth for analysis. 

Indeed, NASA scientists suspect that some of the samples from Bennu may not resemble any of the meteorite samples humanity has collected on Earth up until this point, and that the organic matter contained therein may point to the development of primitive biology across the universe. 

Once back on Earth, detailed analysis will be carried out in the hope of answering questions about the origins of both water and life itself here on Earth. 

“The abundance of carbon-bearing material is a major scientific triumph for the mission. We are now optimistic that we will collect and return a sample with organic material – a central goal of the OSIRIS-REx mission,” said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx’s principal investigator. 

Elsewhere in the research, an abundance of carbonate minerals were located in the asteroid's geology, which suggest extensive hydrothermal systems, containing both water and carbon dioxide, throughout Bennu and its now-deceased parent asteroid. 

This adds further credence to the theory that asteroids may work as some form of seeder for life across the universe. 

NASA has also now managed to create a 3D digital terrain model of Bennu, which it’s described as “a diamond-shaped pile of rubble floating in space.” The model was created using the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter with a 20cm resolution. 

This allowed the craft to detect a series of ridges from pole to pole, in addition to the clearly visible bulge around the object’s equator, revealing yet more secrets about the asteroid’s composition and violent past. 

Researchers now suspect that the space rock is more dense at its surface and more porous towards its core, which may help explain the random ejections of material that occur all the time. These ejections have been invaluable to studying the asteroid’s gravity, as the debris falls back down near where it was thrown out, all under the watchful eye of the NASA probe. 

Since its approach to Bennu in late 2018, OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security - Regolith Explorer) performed detailed orbital surveys and reconnaissance of Bennu's surface. The probe collected data on the composition and structure of the asteroid, and also identified the appropriate places for the collection of samples, scheduled for next October 20.

The results of the studies

The results presented in those studies provide insight into the history and context of Bennu in relation to the samples returned to Earth, scheduled for 2023.

In the first of three studies in Science, researcher Daniella DellaGiustina and her colleagues at the University of Arizona present multispectral images that map the optical color and reflectance of Bennu's surface. By comparing the differences in color and albedo between rocks and craters, they inferred how the surface of Bennu underwent complex evolution due to space weathering processes.

In a second study, Amy Simon and her colleagues at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center use infrared spectroscopy to show that carbon-containing materials, such as organic molecules and / or carbonate minerals, are widespread in most of the world. Bennu surface and particularly concentrated in individual rocks. 

In the third 'Science' study, Hannah Kaplan and her colleagues from the Southwest Research Institute present high-resolution images and spectra of the main 'OSIRIS-REx' sample site, a crater nicknamed Nightingale. They identify bright veins in some of the rocks in the area, with different infrared absorptions, suggesting they are carbonate minerals. The veins would have been formed by reactions with flowing water on Bennu's parent asteroid, during the early Solar System.

 In the 'Science Advances' study, Michael Daly and his colleagues from York University in Canada observed Bennu using the 'OSIRIS-REx' laser altimeter (OLA). They used the OLA data to produce a 3D model of Bennu with a resolution of 20 cm and measure the rock structure of the asteroid. In their case they found that Bennu's southern hemisphere is rounder and smoother, while its northern hemisphere has higher slopes and a more irregular shape. The second study published in Science Advances explored the physical characteristics of the boulders that form the structure of the asteroid's pile of debris. 

Ben Rozitis and his colleagues at The Open University in the UK used thermal infrared data to determine the surface roughness and thermal inertia of the Bennu rocks. They found that the asteroid likely consists of two different types of rocks with similar mineral compositions but different colors and albedos, which may also have different structural properties. 

In the latest Science Advances study, Daniel Scheeres and his colleagues at the University of Colorado tracked the motion of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in Bennu's weak gravitational field and the orbits of boulder-sized particles ejected from the surface of Bennu. Modeling those motions allowed the authors to determine the distribution of the asteroid's gravitational field. The findings suggest that the density of the rubble pile is unevenly distributed, with regions of lower density at the equator and the center.

References

https://www.rt.com/news/503221-asteroid-statue-liberty-minimoon-explained/

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