[HN Gopher] First look at asteroid dust brought to Earth offers ...
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First look at asteroid dust brought to Earth offers surprises
Author : Anon84
Score : 50 points
Date : 2023-12-15 20:38 UTC (2 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.nature.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.nature.com)
| uoaei wrote:
| Aromatic hydrocarbons! Expected, but still relieving to have
| evidence. Puts one more tally in the column of "life is probably
| carbon-based elsewhere, too".
| foruhar wrote:
| Please say more. What was this expected and how does it support
| the carbon-based hypothesis?
| bluGill wrote:
| This supports the hypothesis that the early molecules we
| think are needed to get to life happen elsewhere in the
| universe.
|
| There are only a few chemistries that could even support
| life. Carbon is the one we know the most about, and also one
| that we find the most evidence for getting to that complex of
| chemistry in the real universe. Nobody knows of course, but
| odds seem good if there is other life out there is it carbon
| based. (nobody really can know either - the universe is so
| far away we can't really detect details very well)
| psadri wrote:
| Hydrogen, carbon and oxygen are amongst the most common
| elements in the universe. So probabilistically life will be
| carbon based. And it will probably be first formed in
| water. But it would develop tools on land once opposing
| thumbs are formed (from climbing trees). So I think there
| is a high chance aliens with technology will look a lot
| like us.
| jvanderbot wrote:
| Snakes climb trees.
| albertsondev wrote:
| That logic follows... right up until the leap to arboreal
| lifeforms with opposable thumbs being an inevitability
| (or even a prerequisite to tool use!).
|
| Opposable thumbs are not a guarantee. Nor are tree-
| dwelling lifeforms, nor trees, nor thumbs, nor digits,
| nor four limbs. For all we know, intelligent life
| elsewhere might better resemble intelligent octopi using
| alkaline metals as their first rudimentary energy source
| as we did with fire.
| davideg wrote:
| > 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."
|
| Can anyone expound on which part of this is rare or what would be
| more expected?
|
| I'm guessing that if most meteorite samples are collected after
| impact on earth such a brittle crust would be destroyed before
| observation.
| LordGrey wrote:
| > 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.
|
| That sounds about like every DIY repair around the house I
| attempt.
|
| Joking aside, the article goes on to say that "NASA is now making
| new screwdrivers" to gain access. Does anyone have details on
| this? Why would NASA need to build something new?
| gumby wrote:
| > Joking aside, the article goes on to say that "NASA is now
| making new screwdrivers" to gain access. Does anyone have
| details on this? Why would NASA need to build something new?
|
| They have to be qualified for use inside the glove box (read
| this in a different article), which I assume means sterile and
| unlikely to flake any material off. NASA is quite worried about
| being faked out by detecting something added post collection.
|
| Also who knows what the failure mode is, so here is some
| speculation: Perhaps some distortion in the case, so the screw
| holes are no longer circular? In which case the tool has to
| apply more torque than normal (without flaking or snapping) and
| maybe have a special clamp, and even a strain gauge for
| measuring torque?
| yellow_lead wrote:
| To prevent contamination
|
| > 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.
|
| I'm not sure why the screwdrivers that opened the other screws
| wouldn't work though, if that's what you're asking.
| febed wrote:
| Probably because the screws are damaged, as mentioned in the
| article
| 303uru wrote:
| So as we discover that the goods for life are literally
| everywhere what's the rub? Intelligence is the big jump? Life is
| everywhere but hiding for some reason?
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