https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03978-4 Skip to main content Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. Advertisement Advertisement Nature * View all journals * Search * Log in * Explore content * About the journal * Publish with us * Subscribe * Sign up for alerts * RSS feed 1. nature 2. news 3. article * NEWS * 12 December 2023 'Head-scratcher': first look at asteroid dust brought to Earth offers surprises Researchers have begun examining the pristine space rocks collected by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. By * Alexandra Witze 1. Alexandra Witze View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar * Twitter * Facebook * Email The OSIRIS-REx curation team members set the sample from Ben asteroid down in the canister glovebox in a clean room. Researchers handle OSIRIS-REx's sample canister inside a glovebox at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.Credit: NASA/Kimberly Allums San Francisco, California In the 2.5 months since NASA's first asteroid sample-return mission landed safely on Earth, technicians have carefully plucked more than 70 grams of asteroid dust and pebbles from the spacecraft's canister. That's more than ten times the amount brought back from an asteroid previously, and more than NASA declared necessary to call the mission a success. Some of the pebbles even seem to contain a combination of chemical elements that is puzzling researchers. [d41586-023] Special delivery! Biggest-ever haul of asteroid dust and rock returns to Earth But these early discoveries are still a long way from where planetary scientists had hoped to be after the 24 September touchdown. In October, researchers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, discovered that 2 of the 35 screws that fasten the lid of the sample-return canister couldn't be removed -- blocking access to the remainder of the space rocks. Curators used tweezers to pull out what they could, and NASA is now making new screwdrivers so it can get into the device it flew billions of kilometres across the Solar System to the asteroid Bennu and back. Until then, "it's kind of like Schrodinger's sample", said Dante Lauretta, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson who heads the scientific-analysis team for the OSIRIS-REx mission. "We don't know what's in there." Lauretta spoke at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, California, on 11 December, where he presented the first results of the mission. Still, there's plenty of research to do with the 70.3 grams that technicians have managed to extract so far. Early analysis suggests that the Bennu fragments are rich in volatile chemical compounds preserved in the deep freeze of space since the Solar System's birth more than 4.5 billion years ago. "This alone makes the whole mission worthwhile," Lauretta said. "We now have abundant pristine material" from the dawn of the Solar System. Precious cargo When pieces of asteroid fall to Earth as meteorites, they pass through the planet's atmosphere, which heats them up and potentially alters their chemical make-up. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft kept its copious cargo protected from any such alterations. [d41586-023] 'Incredible' asteroid sample ferried to Earth is rich in the building blocks of life The haul includes a 3.5-centimetre-long rock, the biggest collected on Bennu. It is so large that it jammed the spacecraft's collecting mechanism open when OSIRIS-REx briefly touched the asteroid's surface in 2020 to hoover up a collection of pebbles and dust. Like nearly all of the Bennu material, the rock is dark-coloured, almost to the point of being black -- although it has a bluish sheen to it, Lauretta reported at the meeting. That's similar to the highly reflective boulders that OSIRIS-REx photographed on Bennu's surface as it orbited the asteroid. Other, smaller chunks in the Bennu sample have light-coloured reflective coatings, making them seem brighter than the darker pebbles. But, under a scanning electron microscope, they were found to be covered in a highly brittle layer that broke easily, revealing a dark interior. Chemical analysis showed that this light-coloured surface skin contained magnesium, sodium and phosphate. This combination is rarely if ever seen in meteorites, Lauretta said. "It's a head-scratcher right now." Other bits of Bennu contain hydrated clay minerals known as phyllosilicates, as well as carbonates, magnetite and sulfide minerals. All of these were anticipated but are good to see, Lauretta said. The Bennu sample also contains organic compounds -- those containing carbon-carbon or carbon-hydrogen bonds -- including a large amount of the ringed molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Organic materials such as these have been found in meteorites on Earth and might have been involved in the rise of life on this planet. Freeing the samples So far, curators have catalogued more than 1,000 Bennu particles that are larger than 0.5 millimetres, Lauretta said. Previously, only the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 missions, to asteroids Itogawa in 2005 and Ryugu in 2018, respectively, have returned samples. But those brought back no more than a teaspoonful of material between them. In addition to the 70.3 grams of Bennu already catalogued, an estimated 30-70 grams of material still lie inside the heart of OSIRIS-REx's sample-return canister, Lauretta said. The screwdrivers that NASA is building to free the remaining rocks and dust will need to be made from materials that won't contaminate the samples, which are currently inside a nitrogen-filled glovebox. It could be weeks before technicians can unfasten the stuck screws. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03978-4 Reprints and Permissions Related Articles * [d41586-023] 'Incredible' asteroid sample ferried to Earth is rich in the building blocks of life * [d41586-023] Asteroid sampler's hypersonic return thrilled scientists: here's what they learnt * [d41586-023] Special delivery! Biggest-ever haul of asteroid dust and rock returns to Earth * [d41586-023] NASA 'fist bumps' an asteroid to reveal Solar System's secrets Subjects * Planetary science * Asteroids, comets and Kuiper belt Latest on: Planetary science The human factor in water disasters The human factor in water disasters Outlook 14 DEC 23 Korean lunar mission provides a view into the Moon's dark spaces Korean lunar mission provides a view into the Moon's dark spaces News 14 DEC 23 The engineer who helped India to reach the Moon The engineer who helped India to reach the Moon News Feature 13 DEC 23 Nature Careers Jobs * Assistant / Associate / Full Professor Level The candidate will be expected to develop and maintain an innovative, externally funded research program. Worcester, Massachusetts UMass Chan Medical School [] * Staff Scientist - Discovery Biology Houston, Texas (US) Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) [] * Bioinformatician (postdoctoral level) in Immunology and Immunogenetics (m/f/d) The Institute of Neuropathology is looking for a Bioinformatician (postdoctoral level) in Immunology and Immunogenetics (m/f/d). Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Wurttemberg (DE) University Hospital Freiburg [] * NIHR GOSH BRC 3-year Clinical Training (PhD) Fellowship Clinical PhD Fellowship for paediatric doctors and wider Healthcare Professionals at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health London (Greater) (GB) NIHR GOSH BRC [] * Postdoctoral / Research Scientist positions in Molecular Immunology / Cancer Immunology Dallas, Texas (US) The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern Medical Center) [] You have full access to this article via your institution. Download PDF Related Articles * [d41586-023] 'Incredible' asteroid sample ferried to Earth is rich in the building blocks of life * [d41586-023] Asteroid sampler's hypersonic return thrilled scientists: here's what they learnt * [d41586-023] Special delivery! Biggest-ever haul of asteroid dust and rock returns to Earth * [d41586-023] NASA 'fist bumps' an asteroid to reveal Solar System's secrets Subjects * Planetary science * Asteroids, comets and Kuiper belt Advertisement Sign up to Nature Briefing An essential round-up of science news, opinion and analysis, delivered to your inbox every weekday. Email address [ ] [ ] Yes! Sign me up to receive the daily Nature Briefing email. I agree my information will be processed in accordance with the Nature and Springer Nature Limited Privacy Policy. Sign up * Close Nature Briefing Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter -- what matters in science, free to your inbox daily. Email address [ ] Sign up [ ] I agree my information will be processed in accordance with the Nature and Springer Nature Limited Privacy Policy. Close Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing Explore content * Research articles * News * Opinion * Research Analysis * Careers * Books & Culture * Podcasts * Videos * Current issue * Browse issues * Collections * Subjects * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Subscribe * Sign up for alerts * RSS feed About the journal * Journal Staff * About the Editors * Journal Information * Our publishing models * Editorial Values Statement * Journal Metrics * Awards * Contact * Editorial policies * History of Nature * Send a news tip Publish with us * For Authors * For Referees * Language editing services * Submit manuscript Search Search articles by subject, keyword or author [ ] Show results from [All journals] Search Advanced search Quick links * Explore articles by subject * Find a job * Guide to authors * Editorial policies Nature (Nature) ISSN 1476-4687 (online) ISSN 0028-0836 (print) nature.com sitemap About Nature Portfolio * About us * Press releases * Press office * Contact us Discover content * Journals A-Z * Articles by subject * Protocol Exchange * Nature Index Publishing policies * Nature portfolio policies * Open access Author & Researcher services * Reprints & permissions * Research data * Language editing * Scientific editing * Nature Masterclasses * Live Expert Trainer-led workshops * Research Solutions Libraries & institutions * Librarian service & tools * Librarian portal * Open research * Recommend to library Advertising & partnerships * Advertising * Partnerships & Services * Media kits * Branded content Professional development * Nature Careers * Nature Conferences Regional websites * Nature Africa * Nature China * Nature India * Nature Italy * Nature Japan * Nature Korea * Nature Middle East * Privacy Policy * Use of cookies * Your privacy choices/Manage cookies * Legal notice * Accessibility statement * Terms & Conditions * Your US state privacy rights Springer Nature (c) 2023 Springer Nature Limited