NASA unveils surprising discovery after opening cannister of asteroid Bennu; Here's what scientists found

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Also read: NASA launches spacecraft to explore metal-rich asteroid Psyche; Here's what it expects to find According to NASA administrator, Carbon accounted for almost 5% of the sample's total weight, and was present in both organic and mineral form, while the water was locked inside the crystal structure of clay minerals. Scientists believe the reason Earth has oceans, lakes, and rivers is because it was hit by water-carrying asteroids 4 to 4.5 billion years ago, making it a habitable planet. All life on Earth meanwhile is based on carbon, which forms bonds with other elements to produce proteins and enzymes as well as the building blocks of genetic code, DNA, and RNA.

Also read: NASA’s first asteroid sample has landed that may give clues about Earth's enemies in outer space The findings were made through a preliminary analysis involving scanning electron microscopy, X-ray computed tomography, and more. This is the first US mission to collect a sample from an asteroid. It returned to Earth on 24 September, to drop off material from asteroid Bennu.

The spacecraft didn't land but continued on to a new mission to explore asteroid Apophis. However, OSIRIS-REx wasn't the first probe to rendezvous with an asteroid, Japan succeeded in the feat twice, returning celestial dust in 2010 and 2020. But the amount collected -- an estimated 250 grams (half a pound) -- dwarfs that returned by the Japanese missions, with Hayabusa2 managing only 5.4 grams.