https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00264-3 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 * 29 January 2025 Asteroid fragments upend theory of how life on Earth bloomed Samples from Bennu contain the chemical building blocks of life -- but with a twist. By * Alexandra Witze 1. Alexandra Witze View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar * Twitter * Facebook * Email Researchers in PPE in a clean room work with a metal container inside a lab glove box. Researchers open a canister containing fragments of the asteroid Bennu in a super-clean laboratory under inert gas to prevent contamination. Credit: Robert Markowitz Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Fragments of the asteroid Bennu, carefully collected and ferried to Earth by a robotic spacecraft, contain the building blocks for life, NASA announced today. Access options Access through your institution Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $29.99 / 30 days cancel any time Learn more Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access $199.00 per year only $3.90 per issue Learn more Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from$1.95 to$39.95 Learn more Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Additional access options: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00264-3 Read the related News & Views: 'Asteroid Bennu contains salts from ancient brine'. Also, listen to a related Nature podcast 'Asteroid Bennu contains building blocks of life' References 1. Glavin, D. P. et al. Nature Astron. https://doi.org/10.1038/ s41550-024-02472-9 (2025). Article Google Scholar 2. McCoy, T. J. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/ s41586-024-08495-6 (2025). Article Google Scholar 3. Lauretta, D. S. et al. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 59, 2453-2486 (2024). Article Google Scholar Download references Reprints and permissions Related Articles * [d41586-025] 'Head-scratcher': first look at asteroid dust brought to Earth offers surprises * [d41586-025] Asteroid sampler's hypersonic return thrilled scientists: here's what they learnt * [d41586-025] Special delivery! 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Biggest-ever haul of asteroid dust and rock returns to Earth * [d41586-025] NASA 'fist bumps' an asteroid to reveal Solar System's secrets Subjects * Asteroids, comets and Kuiper belt * Astronomy and astrophysics 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. 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