Asteroids, small airless bodies within the inner solar system, are theorized to have contributed water and chemical building blocks of life to Earth billions of years ago. Although meteorites on Earth come from asteroids,

Scientists detected all five nucleobases -- building blocks of DNA and RNA -- in samples returned from asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission.

Japanese scientists detected all five nucleobases — building blocks of DNA and RNA — in samples returned from asteroid Bennu by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission brought back 121.6 grams of asteroid Bennu,

The building blocks for life, including salts, organic matter and amino acids have been found in samples returned to Earth from outer space.

Two science teams pored over samples from the B-type asteroid Bennu, finding chemicals linked to the beginnings of life and brine that is of interest for future space exploration.

NASA scientists discovered a plethora of precursors to life on the asteroid Bennu, demonstrating the importance of Earthbound sample-return missions.

Rock and dust samples brought back from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu contain organic matter, including amino acids and all five DNA and RNA bases, as well as salts that formed early in the history of Bennu's parent body.

Joint Press Release by Hokkaido University, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Kyushu University, Tohoku University, and

Japanese collaborators detected all five nucleobases — building blocks of DNA and RNA — in samples returned from asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx

Scientists found 11 minerals in Bennu samples, including calcite, halite, and sylvite, that form when water with dissolved salts evaporates over time, leaving solid crystals. Similar brines have been detected on Ceres and Enceladus.

It took two years for NASA's OSIRIS-REx space probe to return from asteroid Bennu before dropping off a small capsule as it flew past Earth, which was

Pristine samples of the asteroid Bennu transported to Earth contain the "basic building blocks" for life, shedding new light on the perennial question of how life began on our planet.