Samples from asteroid Bennu reveal what Earth could have formed from 4.5 billion years ago
Kyiv • UNN
Isotopic analysis of samples from Bennu showed that it formed at the boundary between the hot and cold regions of the protoplanetary disk 4.5 billion years ago. The asteroid’s composition is close to the material from which the terrestrial planets formed.
Samples of asteroid Bennu, delivered to Earth by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, helped scientists determine where and from what material this space object formed. The study showed that Bennu originated at the boundary between the hot and cold regions of the protoplanetary disk about 4.5 billion years ago, reports Space.com, writes UNN.
Details
According to Maria Schönbächler, a professor of isotope geochemistry at ETH Zurich, Bennu may provide one of the best insights into the initial mixture of chemical elements from which the terrestrial planets eventually formed.
Bennu may offer us the best insight into the initial mixture of chemical elements from which the terrestrial planets were ultimately built
What scientists saw in the samples
OSIRIS-REx studied the near-Earth asteroid from 2018 to 2021, and on September 23, 2023, delivered about 120 grams of its soil to Earth. NASA provided portions of the unique sample to laboratories in various countries around the world.
Schönbächler's team studied isotopes of iron, titanium, and chromium. The analysis showed that Bennu's material was well mixed and, in composition, may be close to the average composition of the protoplanetary disk's material from which Earth and other planets formed.
Bennu's composition also turned out to be very similar to that of the asteroid Ryugu, samples of which were delivered to Earth by Japan's Hayabusa2 mission, as well as to rare meteorites — CI chondrites. According to the researchers, this similarity indicates that these celestial bodies may have formed in the same region of the early Solar System.