Far from Earth, an asteroid called Bennu orbits the sun. In 2023, a NASA spacecraft brought samples of Bennu back to Earth. Two papers, both published in January, reveal that the samples contained the building blocks of life, including compounds that make up DNA. Did similar asteroids collide with Earth billions of years ago, kicking off life as we know it? Experts aren’t sure. But Nicky Fox, an administrator at NASA, called the samples “groundbreaking.” Below, see how the samples traveled from Bennu to Earth.
1. In 2016, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft launches from Florida.
2. The craft arrives at Bennu in December 2018, and spends two years surveying for a spot to collect samples.
3. The craft finds a good spot to collect samples. It stows the sample material in a safe capsule and heads back to Earth.
4. On the way back to Earth, the capsule is shot from the ship. As it gets closer to Earth, parachutes slow it down.
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