Analysis of samples brought back to Earth from the asteroid Bennu reveal that it has a bizarre chemical make-up and is ...

This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 images taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles. Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of ...

This undated image made available by NASA shows the asteroid Bennu from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. This undated image made available by NASA shows the asteroid Bennu from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.

Analysing returned samples Tim McCoy (right), curator of meteorites at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and research geologist Cari Corrigan examine scanning electron microscope ...

Whereas most Earthly amino acids exist in a left-handed form, samples from Bennu contain an almost equal amount of amino acids that are their mirror image. These right-handed amino acids aren’t ...

In 2016, NASA embarked on a new and unique mission: sending the Osiris-REx spacecraft to rendezvous with the asteroid Bennu to study the rocky space object and collect samples to return to ...

The top image shows hydrated sodium carbonate salts highlighted in purple. The Bennu sample container. Credit: NASA "We're seeing minerals in Bennu samples that we have never seen before in a ...

A modern case in point: The asteroid Bennu contains all the materials needed for life. The OSIRIS-REx mission launched in 2016. Its main aim was to study Bennu and retrieve samples to bring back ...

Bennu’s potential collision with Earth is a remote but unsettling possibility, according to a new study. Bennu is about 500 metres wide—taller than the Empire State Building and as wide as ...

They calculated that there is a very small chance — about 1-in-2700, or 0.037% to be exact — that asteroid Bennu, which is roughly the size of the Empire State Building, could collide with our ...