In samples NASA brought back from the asteroid Bennu, scientists have discovered of organic compounds, including key building blocks of life like amino acids.

The Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency has done two asteroid sample-return missions, to the asteroids Itokawa and Ryugu. Special delivery! Biggest-ever haul of asteroid dust and rock returns ...

Before examining the samples, the team expected that sample grains returned from the asteroid might contain substances not generally found in meteorites. They anticipated that these could be ...

An artist's rendering depicts the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft contacting the asteroid Bennu with the Touch-and-Go Sample Arm Mechanism.

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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.

There’s certainly nothing living on the asteroid Bennu, an airless, 1,614-ft. rubble pile orbiting the sun about 40.2 million miles from Earth. But that doesn’t mean that Bennu hasn’t all at once ...